Maple lake Huge catfish Flat or bull??

[NavyTopGun]

So we got this in the fall,took my daughter she couldn’t real it in it was in the weeds good fighting. Anyways showed it to a buddy from Illinois when I was in San Diego he said that’s biggest cat he’s seen in any of the preserves waters. He says it’s either a bullhead or flathead but supposedly there ain’t flatheads in there. She’s 5’11 it was longer her leg this thing was 14.6lbs giant head,old man fishing next to us weighed it on a some type of scale with hook. Threw it back of course. What ya guys think flathead or?Hard to say with cats brown or yellow bull

****Guys thanks for the input. A few questioned the pic,I only came here to see what it was. Believe it or not we’re amateur fishermen and amateur photographers we didn’t pay to have the pic altered,ha ha. And as far as the pole it’s my saltwater pole with 30lb line metal leader and I didn’t even change the hook I used while in California. Look closely you can clearly see it’s metal with swivels and everything. It’s that colored line feels like cloth dental floss I catch yellow tuna with it salmon,i just hate using my bass pole in these snag waters and losing my lures. That line has never snapped 100 snags drags in the pile of wood it’s snagged on. That’s why I like it and that’s why I don’t catch bass or anything with it they see the line the lead big hook swivels. This guy was just on bottom buried in weeds. 15lbs is nothing for that line. And 15lbs to me is small considering I’m not a pro. I cheat I use boats with finders on them and drop line in a school. Down in San Diego where I do most of the fishing you can catch some fish 3x this cats size all day and very delicious. Offshore we catch tuna mainly with sand sharks wich also I catch with this same exact pole hook line sinker. Last fish on that hook was a sand shark a baby but someone asked how she’s holding it up. Look at the setup on there zoom in you clearly see all the contraptions. Thanks guys,I’ll be here for another month if anybody knows can we catch any rainbows or perch at this time anywhere?i want to take her 1 more time before I leave. That would be the best memory of the last thing we did together was fish.

[RonG]

Welcome to the site!

What ya guys think flathead or?Hard to say with cats brown or yellow bull

That would be the world record bullhead. Definitely not a bullhead. It's a flathead.

She’s 5’11

The flathead may not be taller than her, but she's for sure taller than most of the runt men on on this website. Tell her that The Lake House with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock was filmed at Maple Lake. Now that lake is famous for two things, the movie and that catch of hers.

[Rambler]

Definitely not a bullhead.

[oldsalt]

That's a channel,color body ,shape wrong for a flat

[CBatt2]

Just my opinion, but the tail doesn't look forked enough for it to be a channel cat. Unfortunately strange angle and perspective on the pic. Doesn't really look like a flathead to me either. I want forensics on the pic and scale! LOL!!!

[oldsalt]

It's my x- wife

[DPMike]

Based on the dark color of the sides and lack of forked tail, I'm going with Flathead.

A beast, whatever it is.

[mania]

How is this fish being held? It looks like it’s hanging on a fishing line. How do you do that with a 15lb fish? Hmmm

[SmalliesNEyes]

Ehhhh this pic looks weird...

It almost looks like it could be a small bullhead with the camera right up close to it to make it appear like a really big fish. I really have nothing else on this one. If it's a 15lb fish like stated, it would almost have to be a flathead. It's not a channel.

[NavyTopGun]

Welcome to the site!

What ya guys think flathead or?Hard to say with cats brown or yellow bull

That would be the world record bullhead. Definitely not a bullhead. It's a flathead.

She’s 5’11

The flathead may not be taller than her, but she's for sure taller than most of the runt men on on this website. Tell her that The Lake House with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock was filmed at Maple Lake. Now that lake is famous for two things, the movie and that catch of hers.

Oh lol no not taller then her I said longer then her legs ha ha. She’s a basketball player in college. From. Ground up it reached her belly. I know it’s not a big fish but I was just following up on my buddy who told me it was really big for a small place like maple lake. Wich is true biggest fish there I caught was a pike. Yes their in there. I don’t fish for bass,too lazy I’m out there to let the pole do the work.

[NavyTopGun]

Just my opinion, but the tail doesn't look forked enough for it to be a channel cat. Unfortunately strange angle and perspective on the pic. Doesn't really look like a flathead to me either. I want forensics on the pic and scale! LOL!!!

No fork in tail whatsoever. Totally flat. Very big anal fin rounded. My buddy is a real fisherman unlike me. He says absolutely not channel no fork.And color because of water I assume or I heard they change colors darker lighter over time. We were just sad we couldn’t take the hook out without ripping his guts out. Once I seen blood I cut the line made sure he swam off and he sure did immediately. I love to fish i never catch anything I’m after. We mainly go to Lake Michigan and the preserve are for the relaxation and nature the fishing is a bonus.all Thats come out of there is pike catfish and the little fish she catches with a bobber.

[NavyTopGun]

Based on the dark color of the sides and lack of forked tail, I'm going with Flathead.

A beast, whatever it is.

Yes it was almost black on top. Usually I see them green but this 1 definitely had black and not a silver but grey under as opposed to all the catfish we caught had again green assuming from algae. I just thought to ask as it came up and he said only bullheads are in maple so he says that’s what they stock. But I didn’t see any yellow at all. Jaw as you can see a bit is sticking out but that sucker had the biggest head and Jaw lips I’ve see since I fished in Kentucky with a friend. It wasn’t a giant I just came here to see what it was as Shes Proud but needs a story to tell as we do,ha ha she’s starting to catch fisherman’s take virus

[NavyTopGun]

How is this fish being held? It looks like it’s hanging on a fishing line. How do you do that with a 15lb fish? Hmmm

If you look at the pole she has and the line on it that was my setup from California. It’s got a steel leader and the line im sorry I’m not well versed it’s the colored line feels like floss we use it to catch tuna off the ship. The roll in my box says 30lb. I use that pole in these small lakes cause I never break it and always breal free of snags without losing lure. It drags big pieces of wood to dock never snapped on me ever. We do have bass poles set up but in these waters it’s such a downer it’s always snagging and breaking. This is same like leader we use for salmon also.

[NavyTopGun]

Ehhhh this pic looks weird...

It almost looks like it could be a small bullhead with the camera right up close to it to make it appear like a really big fish. I really have nothing else on this one. If it's a 15lb fish like stated, it would almost have to be a flathead. It's not a channel.

We thought nothing of it definitely a innocent pic. It’s clearly next to her leg. Look at her arm land his mouth. His tail and her foot. Metal lead 30lb test holding it. Honestly it’s not even how big it is we were just curious as to what’s in there. They say they stock yellow bulls thats it. I’ve caught a pike there. The other cats that have come out of there have all been green or just not black like
This 1 and never caught 1 with a jaw lips like that. Head was so dang big had I used the bass pole it woulda snapped line. She wants a name on her story to her friends so from the consensus I guess it’s a fathead. Tail was 100% flat no fork at all. End of the day she caught a nice catfish no matter flat or bull. From my understanding their are the only 2 with
No forks in tail and a big anal fin like a bullhead. That’s what I was told it was bullhead big anal fin flat tail

[NavyTopGun]

Welcome to the site!

What ya guys think flathead or?Hard to say with cats brown or yellow bull

That would be the world record bullhead. Definitely not a bullhead. It's a flathead.

She’s 5’11

The flathead may not be taller than her, but she's for sure taller than most of the runt men on on this website. Tell her that The Lake House with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock was filmed at Maple Lake. Now that lake is famous for two things, the movie and that catch of hers.

Thank you sir. Kind words. She’s the only kid so she loves these moments. I’m glad I didn’t show her the responses that accuse us of forging a pic to make it look big. I don’t see how that’s even possible. A gold fish will look like a goldfish.This fish is right next to her body. As long as we are all happy and we get a gentleman’s comment to go with it it’s good finish. But my buddy swears because of the jaws it’s a bull. Really that’s all I came to ask they say they don’t stock flatheads. Oh well,I did catch a pike and they say they don’t stock that either but I got 1. Had I not had this same line and metal lead on it it woulda chewed it off I had to lift it with the pole as she is doing from a steep spot he was wiggling so much never stopped fighting even out of water. I’m not even sure what that line is called my buddy put it on. It’s colored feels like cloth or floss. It’s 30lb we used it for tuna fishing last time I fished with it thats what I caught along with baby sand sharks.Happy Good fishing’s to you sir.

[Rambler]

I’m glad I didn’t show her the responses that accuse us of forging a pic to make it look big. I don’t see how that’s even possible.

Top: It's always something. I couple years ago I posted a shot of a LMB I caught on Salt Creek. Started a whole big thing about it being a SMB. Couldn't figure out why anyone would think I'd photoshop a LMB to look like a SMB. Go figure...

[urbanHog312]

Top: It's always something. I couple years ago I posted a shot of a LMB I caught on Salt Creek. Started a whole big thing about it being a SMB. Couldn't figure out why anyone would think I'd photoshop a LMB to look like a SMB. Go figure...

Rambler, my friend - no one accused you of photoshopping but that bass was most definitely of the smallmouth variety

[FishinMatt]

I went through the entire thread to see if anything was out of bounds, and looks good to me. Just a picture of a fish with some speculation of type and size based on the camera angle. Personally I think a large bullhead.

[billebob5]

If we're voting I'm voting Bullhead with some camera trickery. The build on that thing seems like a channel to me, not flathead (if it wasn't for the aforementioned camera games, and the lack of a forked tail). Brown Bullhead to be precise. I'd even go so far as say it's 11 inches.

[joetrain]

I’m voting it’s Rambler and the fish is a smallmouth.

~JOE~

[RonG]

I wish you had thought to bring a different scale with you. Without knowing your daughter's weight we probably will never figure this one out.

That looks like a 4" drain hole on the pavement if that helps in any way.

The weeds on the fish make it look much smaller than a 14 lb fish.

And there is a creative tattoo on the catfish in the mid-section that looks looks like one of those small 2-seat 1960s helicopters. The mystery deepens...

[Rambler]

Rambler, my friend - no one accused you of photoshopping but that bass was most definitely of the smallmouth variety

Hog, my friend - I caught that large mouth, I saw that large mouth, that large mouth was a friend of mine. Sir, that large mouth was no small mouth.

BTW - In case you're not old enough to get this check out youtube for the debate between Lloyd Bentsen & Dan Quayle in the 1988 VP debate.

[SmalliesNEyes]

To be clear, I never accused you of forgery. It's not a bullhead if it was 14.6lbs. The world record yellow bullhead is 6.5lbs. The world record brown bullhead is 7.35lbs. If this fish was 14.6lbs, it would smash the records by double. It's not a channel cat. It would have to be a flathead.

The picture is just odd, IMO. The fish looks much closer to the camera lens than your daughter's leg. You can look at the fishing rod behind the fish to see that the fish is closer to the camera lens than both your daughter's leg, and the fishing rod. You can also tell size somewhat based upon the size of the barrel swivel in the pic.

It's just an odd pic, that's all.

[Rambler]

Now that you mention it Nick, it does appear that the fish is closer to the lens than the legs. Hmm...

But my Salt Creek LMB remains a LMB.

[SmalliesNEyes]

Now that you mention it Nick, it does appear that the fish is closer to the lens than the legs. Hmm...

But my Salt Creek LMB remains a LMB.

Yeah, it's a weird pic. There's no other way to describe it.

Haha. I don't even remember that thread.

[Rambler]

Haha. I don't even remember that thread.

It's colder than a witches tit in February so after shoveling the walks & watching my cats kick the crap out of each other (note - Ted the dog couldn't care less) I've got nothing better to do than go back thru the archives & dredge this up. No doubt evidence of serious cabin fever...

https://www.windycityfishing.com/forums ... 37&t=92638

[RonG]

Never double down on incorrectly IDing a bass. I'm proud of you for still being able to distinguish cats from dogs though. Not all is lost. Cute bunch of friends you have there!

[Rambler]

Gee thanks Ron...I think.