Flatheads in the Juniata

[jifigz]

I noticed that a few months ago a member of this forum posted a picture of a flathead that was proclaimed to be caught in the upper Juniata. Has anyone else seen evidence of these fish? I live directly on this river and fish it a lot. I am not opposed to new species and realize that in today's modern world preventing the spread of aquatic invaders is nearly impossible. There is no way to constantly enforce or monitor things and they are spread both accidentally and purposefully (and that makes me mad when people knowingly transport fish because they think its a good idea.) Anyways, I know that flatheads are one hell of a predatory fish and basically at the top of the food chain. Given that Smallmouths are the most abundant fish in the Juniata, that will probably account for a large majority of their diet. If the population of flatheads grows large it could decimate the rock bass, smallmouths, fallfish, young walleye, well, pretty much anything.

Anyone else see evidence of flatties up in the J?

 

[marcq]

im not sure if they are native to the susky but they are in there so it wouldn't surprise me it they are in there. I think they are native to the ohio river.
personally I think they get a bad rep but that's also cause I like fishing for them. you hook a 30 pound fish it puts up one hell of a fight. the smallies will be fine. everyone think they are going to suffer but they are hard for a flathead to catch. flatties prefer sunnies and suckers just cause they are easier to catch.

if you decide to target them 50 pound braid and 50 pound leader and egg sinker. a 14 inch sucker had a 40 pound flatheads name written all over it. don't thumb them like a bass they got some nasty sandpaper teeth the tear thumbs up.

 

[jifigz]

They are not native to the Susquehanna. They are native to the Ohio river watershed and basically everythng that is connected to the Mississippi, ultimately. Like I said, I am not opposed to them, but I know that they are a top dog predatory fish. I love catching catfish, so I will be chasing them. I knew that they were below a series of dams in the Susky that prevented them from moving north this far, but apparently they got above that somehow. I was seeing if anyone else had any information on how well their populations have been established in the Juniata thus far.

marcq wrote:
im not sure if they are native to the susky but they are in there so it wouldn't surprise me it they are in there. I think they are native to the ohio river.
personally I think they get a bad rep but that's also cause I like fishing for them. you hook a 30 pound fish it puts up one hell of a fight. the smallies will be fine. everyone think they are going to suffer but they are hard for a flathead to catch. flatties prefer sunnies and suckers just cause they are easier to catch.

if you decide to target them 50 pound braid and 50 pound leader and egg sinker. a 14 inch sucker had a 40 pound flatheads name written all over it. don't thumb them like a bass they got some nasty sandpaper teeth the tear thumbs up.

 

[Fishidiot]

jifigz wrote:
Anyone else see evidence of flatties up in the J?

Not me (other than the same pic you're referring to).

With this said, I think it's only a matter of time before they get up into the middle Juniata watershed.

 

[BrookieChaser]

They're north of the Juniata confluence.

I've caught flatheads in the Susky as far north as the Millersburg area. I caught the first one in August of 2009.