Johnsfolly

In the INaturalist records this species has the common name of Rio Grande longear sunfish. Here is one that I caught fishing with @Ham in Texas. That is one of the ones that they updated as a species for their records. L solis is on the list but still considered tied to the L megalotis species. The others have not been recognized on that listing.

Congrats on your continued success on those swamp muskies! I really want to catch a colored up male at some point.

This is a toad of a brown bullhead. As stated in the article, they are not very common in Missouri as compared to yellow or black bullheads. Not only a state record but likely a bowfishing world record for this species! Missouri bowfisherman shoots world record-sized brown bullhead Mitchell Dering of Fairdealing shot the 4-pound fish in Duck Creek Ditch March 14. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) congratulates Mitchell Dering of Fairdealing on shooting the third state record fish recorded in 2023 – a 4-pound brown bullhead. Dering shot the fish while bowfishing at Duck Creek Ditch #105 March 14. The previous state record brown bullhead was a 2-pound, 7-ounce fish caught in 1994 from Wappapello Lake. “I got off work that day and went out to one of the ditches in Duck Creek and just got lucky honestly,” Dering said. “We shoot a lot of smaller fish. I knew it was a bullhead, but didn’t know if was a brown bullhead. But I knew it was large for its size.” Dering contacted the MDC Southeast Regional Office the next day to get his fish weighed. MDC staff verified the fish’s weight on a certified scale in Wappapello. Dering is no stranger to holding state records in Missouri. He briefly held the state record for spotted gar back in 2019. But qualifying for a world record is a new accomplishment. His recent brown bullhead beats the current 3-pound, 4-ounce bowfishing world record. “That’s honestly pretty awesome,” laughed Dering. “I’ve bowfished for quite awhile. We’ve won a few tournaments in Kentucky and Tennessee and have placed in numerous other tournaments. That’s cool, I didn’t know that!” In Missouri, the only confirmed self-sustaining natural population of brown bullheads occurs at Duck Creek Conservation Area and nearby Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Stoddard, Bollinger, and Wayne counties. Dering said he’s now working on his collection of state records and plans to get his bullhead mounted. “I’ve never mounted anything before,” he said. “I broke the state record for spotted gar a few years ago, but some guy broke the record two years later so it’s not in the record books anymore. But I’m working on getting me a collection of state records. I guess potentially world records now!” Learn more about brown bullheads from MDC’s online Field Guide at https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/brown-bullhead. Missouri state record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include: trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line, jug line, gig, bow, crossbow, underwater spearfishing, snagging, snaring, grabbing, or atlatl For more information on state record fish, visit http://bit.ly/2efq1vl. To learn more about world record fish, visit the International Game and Fish Association at https://igfa.org/. PHOTO: MDC confirms Mitchell Dering is the new state record holder under alternative methods after shooting a 4-pound brown bullhead from Duck Creek Ditch #105 March 14. His fish also beats the current bowfishing world record of 3-pounds, 4-ounces.

Great smallie!

@Quillback and @Dutch sounds like a great day after you got on the water 😉! Looks like a bunch of nice fish were caught.

You know that they are never forgotten in the Folly household 😁!

That's awesome!

I have heard this Steely Dan song before but just found out the backstory. I personally have always disliked John Lennon's Imagine. Seemed way out of touch for a guy as materialistic as he was. Today I find out the this Steely Dan song is targeting Lennon.

Congratulations to everyone that was able to take out a youth hunter for this year's youth turkey season. Whether you got a bird or not, it was about making memories of the hunt. I only was able to get my kids out a few seasons and now they are all too old. I hope that we are living in a turkey rich state again when my grandkids are old enough to hunt. DC reports young hunters took 2,550 turkeys over youth weekend MDC reports young hunters took 2,550 turkeys over youth weekend Top harvest counties were Osage, Miller, and Texas. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that young turkey hunters in Missouri harvested 2,550 birds over the past youth weekend, April 1 and 2. Top harvest counties were Osage with 71 birds harvested, Miller with 65, and Texas with 64. Young hunters checked 2,881 birds during the 2022 spring youth weekend. “The cool, windy weather on Saturday made for challenging turkey hunting conditions,” said MDC Turkey Biologist Nicholas Oakley. “Fortunately, hunters stuck with it and Sunday’s weather was more conducive to harvesting a turkey.” Get more harvest information by county at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/. The regular spring turkey season runs April 17 through May 7. For more information on spring turkey hunting in Missouri, visit mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/turkey. Keever Schaning, age 6, of Owensville had been dreaming of the day when he was finally of age to hunt with his dad Josh. That day came Saturday when he harvested his first turkey on his grandparents’ farm in Owensville. The bird weighed 26 pounds with a 10.5 inch beard and 1 inch spurs.

So cool that the girls were able to get so many autographs and great memories!

Nice salty catches buddy. What pier were you fishing?

I have only caught 175 fish on 17 fishing trips this year. I typically count each water body fished as a trip unless one is a trib of the other. So if I travel between two different locations to fish that would be counted as two trips.

Congrats on a few toads Jeff! That is a fat white for sure.

An older gentleman goes to his local store and heads to the produce section. He asks the stock boy working there if he could just buy a half head of cabbage. The boy says, "Sir we only sell the full heads of cabbage." "I only need a half a head of cabbage. Please go talk with your manager.", says the old man. The stock boy goes back to the office to see the manager. "There is an old fart that wants to buy a half of a head of cabbage." While saying this he sees that the old man has followed him into the office area. He quickly says "So this kind gentleman wants to buy the other half." The manager agrees to selling the gentleman a half head of cabbage. After the man leaves the manager says to the boy, "That was quick thinking on your part. Where are you from?" The boy responds, "Russia, sir." "Why did you leave Russia?" "Well there are only prostitutes and hockey players in Russia.",exclaimed the boy. "My wife is from Russia!", yelled the manager. "Really. What team did she play on?" 🤣

Should have left the catfish and brought back more shrimp and crawfish 😉

Dave go back and look at the tables again. White perch numbers dropped almost 90% from the 2006 number (11,538 to 1039) and 75% from the numbers in 2007 (4548 to 1039). Only gizzard shad and carp had increases in numbers collected after the introduction of the snakehead. Though they emphasized that the water control device may have potentially affected the fish populations, only the species, like the spot, silver perch, striped killifish, silversides, etc., which prefer higher salinity would have been affected and their collected numbers in terms of the total number of fish from the 2006/2007 collections was already fairly insignificant (well below 1%). They also mentioned that the land use in the watershed areas has changed very little during the pre-snakehead and post-snakehead time periods. To me the two greatest influencers in reduction of fish abundance and diversity in those areas are the snakeheads and the carp both of which are invasive species. The carp could have increased as mentioned by the reduction of the commercial fishing and also due to the drop in salinity which likely opened up more spawning and feeding habitat for them. The lowered salinity over time also opened up more are for the snakeheads to feed and spawn. In my opinion both should be regulated as much as possible. I haven't caught one yet, but blue cats may be in those areas already.

Many folks out this way are treating them as gamefish. They get big and fight hard. Also live in less than great water conditions unlike more common gamefish. I personally am not an advocate of release unless it's in Lake Crisco😉

@FishnDave I attached (tried to attach in case it won't open) the research in Blackwater refuge on the effects of snakeheads. Here's a link to an article that has links to that paper (maybe; I could not open the link 🤔 ) Study: Fish Populations Drop Since Snakehead Invasion | Chesapeake Bay Magazine FINAL_Blackwater-Fish-Community-Comparison.pdf

State of Virginia states: Anglers are required to report snakeheads kept but are not required to kill them if caught and immediately released. Snakeheads must be dead if in possession (contained in live well, cooler, etc.) However, the Department asks that all snakeheads be killed if possible. If an angler wishes to keep a legally caught northern snakehead, the fish must be killed to be in possession, and the angler must call the hotline or other DWR contact and report the angler’s last name, date of catch, location of catch, and size. Kill the fish by: removing the head, separating the gill arches from the body, or removing the internal organs and put it on ice as quickly as possible. In Maryland (most recent regulations; previously they were to not to be released alive): Harvested snakehead must be killed immediately after being caught if there is intent to keep the fish. Possession and/or transport of live snakehead is illegal under state and federal law. If the angler does not intend on keep the fish, they may release it but must do so, immediately. Persons wishing to release a live snakehead may do so provided it is immediate and directly back into the waters from which it came. For those willing, we actively encourage the targeting and harvest of every snakehead caught.

Wasn't sure if you were encouraging @ollie to go down and fish and enjoy the comeraderie or for the possibility to see unsafe boating practices 🤣

Wishing you and your mom the very best in this challenging time.

Congrats on a couple of nice ones @Quillback. Would have loved to seen what hit your bait so hard. I'm sure that you wanted to see it as well😉.

Very cool catch Dave. congrats on the lifer!

Congrats Dave!

Been working on this. Just got home from a few days in Tenn. I fished a lot, but weather, i.e., heavy rain, and some access issues affected catching lifers. Did end up with one lifer minnow. Can't wait for spring water temps. Emerald Shiner - caught a few took photos of the nicer ones. Posted these Atlantic herring in a previous posting.