Blue catfish harvest regulations change in Kansas

PRATT (KSNT) - Wildlife officials are spreading the word to Kansas anglers of some recent changes made to blue catfish harvest regulations.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) made several changes to fishing regulations in June during a meeting of KDWP commissioners in Hays which are now active in the state. This includes new blue catfish harvest regulations for Clinton, El Dorado, Elk City, Glen Elder, John Redmond and Melvern reservoirs.

The regulation includes a creel limit of 10 blue catfish per day with no more than one fish measuring 30 inches or longer. The KDWP issued a press release on July 17 to raise awareness of this new regulation for the popular fish species.

“Many of our early blue catfish populations were initially protected with very restrictive harvest regulations to allow the stocked fish to mature and naturally reproduce,” said Craig Johnson, KDWP El Dorado District Fisheries Biologist. “Now that blue catfish numbers are being maintained at several lakes through natural recruitment instead of supplemental stocking, we can relax the regulations and anglers can benefit by harvesting more fish from these productive populations.”

The KDWP cites research which shows reservoirs with lower population densities exhibit the best growth rates for blue catfish, meaning larger fish will be available to anglers. Blue catfish take eight to 14 years to reach 30 inches which makes older and bigger fish a valuable resource.

Under the new regulation, anglers are encouraged to harvest to help provide the desired densities in Kansas reservoirs. The KDWP encourages anglers to harvest smaller fish less than 30 inches, especially those between 18 and 28 inches, while letting larger fish go.

“For the 10 blue catfish per day with one over 30 inches limit as well as protected slot length limits for blue catfish to meet the objective of improving fish size structure, anglers need to harvest legal length fish,” Johnson said. “Releasing the smaller blues with the idea that they’ll grow larger isn’t the best approach in lakes with limits encouraging harvest. Take your blues home, they make for a great fish fry, and you’ll know you’re helping improve the fishery.”

To learn more about blue catfish, including season information, fishing forecasts and stocking records, click here.

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