Mississippi River – Syndication Server

Alligator grows at alarming rate; officials think they know why

An alligator in Mississippi was discovered to have grown at an alarming rate, nearly doubling in size since it was first tagged in 2011.

An alligator harvested by hunters in Mississippi was discovered to have grown at an alarming rate, nearly doubling in size since it was first tagged in 2011.

The hunters caught the 12-foot, 1-inch alligator in Forest Home Chute off the Mississippi River south of Eagle Lake last week and turned in the tag, as reported this week by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

When first tagged, the alligator measured 6.4 feet, meaning it grew an average of 8.6 inches each year over nine years.

“It is rare to document alligators of this size class with annual growth rates of this magnitude,” the MWDFP stated on Facebook

It’s really amazing when contrasted with the growth rate of an 11-foot, 1-inch alligator harvested by hunter Cory Stewart at the end of August. That gator taken in the Pearl River/Ross Barnett Zone grew only 24.8 inches in the 13 years since being tagged June 14, 2007. That’s an annual growth rate of 1.9 inches per year.

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So what is the explanation given by experts? Asian carp.

“Since the time 2003-2005, this area of the Mississippi Delta has seen a tremendous increase in the Asian carp population,” the MWDFP stated. “The MWDFP Wildlife Bureau has documented alligators feeding on the Asian carp on many occasions.

“People have observed alligators feeding on carp floating in the waterways following a die-off and feeding on live carp. Alligators in this part of the state (tributaries of the Mississippi River) have significantly more body mass than alligators anywhere else in the state.”

Photos of the alligator, hunters and tag courtesy of Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

112-pound blue catfish truly a landmark catch

Wade Kaminski on Friday reeled from the Mississippi River “the fish of a lifetime,” a 5-foot-long blue catfish that weighed 112 pounds.

“This is the one I’ve been chasing my whole life,” Kaminski, who is from St. Charles, Mo., told NBC affiliate KSDK.

He joins a small number of anglers to have landed blue catfish topping 100 pounds. (The Missouri state record is 130 pounds; the world record is a 143-pound blue catfish caught in Virginia’s Kerr Lake in 2011.)

Kaminski told For The Win Outdoors that a longtime goal has been to surpass the 100-pound mark. “Prior to Friday my biggest blue cat was 90 pounds and I knew right away that this fish was much larger,” he said.

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The images, with the 630-foot St. Louis Gateway Arch in the background, certainly show a fish with substantial girth.

Kaminski and Jake Derhake were drift-fishing with skipjack herring as bait when the giant catfish struck at a depth of 30 feet. The battle, on 80-pound-test braided line, lasted about eight minutes.

Their scale topped out at 100 pounds so Kaminski and Derhake motored to a St. Louis guide who was fishing near the Arch and used his scale to obtain an official weight.

The catfish was kept in an aerated live well during transit and released after it was immortalized in photos.

“We want these fish to be around for the next generations or maybe in a couple years to catch this fish again and get the same enjoyment we got today,” Kaminski told KSDK.

–Images courtesy of Wade Kaminski

A catch so rare that it’s spared the dinner table

Robyn Bordelon has landed more catfish than she can count, but her recent catch of a 10-pound blue catfish is one she’ll never forget.

Robyn Bordelon has landed more catfish than she can count, but her recent catch of a 10-pound blue catfish is likely one that she’ll never forget.

The fish, caught from a kayak on the Mississippi River, had no blue pigmentation. It was mostly white with a piebald pattern more likely to appear on a horse or cow, with a pink-and-black tail.

Robyn Bordelon poses with rare leucistic blue catfish. Photo: Robyn Bordelon

“I’ve seen pictures of these fish, but I never thought one would grace my line,” Bordelon, who is from Destrehan, La., told For The Win Outdoors. “That’s the best Monday I’ve had in a long time, and watching that fish swim away was priceless.”

Bordelon, who retrieved her baited jug lines on March 16 in the hope of landing fish she could store in her freezer, said she could not bring herself to keep the odd-looking catfish.

It was likely leucistic, a rare condition in which skin lacks typical pigmentation.

“That fish is at a disadvantage from birth with a mostly white coloration that sticks out to predators,” Bordelon told Louisiana Sportsman, explaining why she set it free. “When I pulled up the line and saw what it was – and how big it was – I almost lost my lunch.”

Robyn Bordelon shows off a normal-looking blue catfish. Photo: Robyn Bordelon

Bordelon told For The Win Outdoors that she likes to fish with a rod and reel, but when the river is high during the spring runoff she uses her kayak to set jug lines.

The anchored lines, with jugs serving as floats, are baited with shad or mullet and allowed to sit for extended periods. Bordelon waited about 24 hours before checking her lines on March 16, but the leucistic catfish appeared to have been freshly hooked.

She told Louisiana Sportsman: “I quickly got it netted, took pics, revived it, and happily watched it swim away.”

–Images showing Robyn Bordelon with a rare leucistic blue catfish, and a normal-looking blue catfish (bottom), are courtesy of Robyn Bordelon