05-07-2003, 09:40 PM
[cool]Just another problem with nomenclature. I first heard the term "blue channel cats" back in the sixties, applied to the bluish color phase of regular old channel cats. The true blue cat is mostly confined to waters in the eastern states, with some successful transplants into California lakes.
In most waters that have channels, adult males seem to turn darker during spawning season and often remain an almost blue color throughout the year. Younger males and females are more commonly the brownish hue.
Larger males sometimes have heads larger in proportion to their bodies than females also. This, along with color differences, results in many anglers mistaking them for being two different species.
I once witnessed a bodacious fist fight between two "tanglers" arguing over whether or not a fish was a "blue" cat. That's how them hot springs came to be at Lincoln Beach.
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In most waters that have channels, adult males seem to turn darker during spawning season and often remain an almost blue color throughout the year. Younger males and females are more commonly the brownish hue.
Larger males sometimes have heads larger in proportion to their bodies than females also. This, along with color differences, results in many anglers mistaking them for being two different species.
I once witnessed a bodacious fist fight between two "tanglers" arguing over whether or not a fish was a "blue" cat. That's how them hot springs came to be at Lincoln Beach.
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