Hardhead Catfish
Species Facts
Science Name: Ariopsis felis
World Record: 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz)
Description

The hardhead catfish has four barbels under the chin, with two more at the corners of the mouth.[6] These barbels help the catfish find crabs, fish and shrimp in the muddy bays where they live. The dorsal and pectoral fins each are supported by a sharp, slime-covered barbed spine. The dorsal spine is normally held erect when the fish is excited and a tennis shoe or even a leather-soled shoe offers little protection. The gafftopsail catfish looks similar to the hardhead catfish, but its dorsal spine has a distinctive fleshy extension (like the fore-and-aft topsail of a ship).

Distribution and Habitat

Hardhead catfish are found mostly in the near shore waters of the Western Atlantic Ocean, around the southeast coast of the United States, around the Florida Keys, and around the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.[3][4] Hardhead catfish are also found in brackish estuaries and river mouths where the bottom is sandy or muddy.[5] It tends to move from shallower to deeper waters in the winter months. "Hardhead catfish are voracious feeders and will bite on almost any natural bait. Hardhead catfish are also known to steal bait. Shrimp is a particularly effective bait to use. A size 1 hook is usually effective for catching this fish. Anglers commonly use lightweight tackle if they are fishing specifically for this species, but many others use heavyweight tackle because the hardhead catfish seems to bite equally well on both. Care must be taken in handling hardhead catfish because the slime on their spines is mildly poisonous.[7] If the skin is punctured, pain and swelling will ensue, and infection may set in. The spine is barbed, which makes withdrawal an even more unpleasant process. Hardhead catfish are edible but, like all catfish, require some effort to clean. It is one of the thirty most recreationally harvested species in the 5-county area (Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin) encompassing the Indian River Lagoon (IRL)in central Florida.[8] From 1997-2001, 361,022 hardhead catfish were harvested within 200 miles of the shore in the IRL region."

Sources

"1.^ Webster, Pearse. Hardhead Catfish. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. http://www.dnr.sc.gov/cwcs/pdf/Hardheadcatfish.pdf 2.^ Webster, Pearse. Hardhead Catfish. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. http://www.dnr.sc.gov/cwcs/pdf/Hardheadcatfish.pdf 3.^ Webster, Pearse. Hardhead Catfish. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. http://www.dnr.sc.gov/cwcs/pdf/Hardheadcatfish.pdf 4.^ Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2009. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.fishbase.org version (07/2009) 5.^ http://www.ohwy.com/us/h/hardhead.htm 6.^ K. Hill, Smithsonian Marine Station 2005 http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/Ariops_felis.htm 7.^ Texas Parks and Wildlife Department page on hardhead catfish http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/hardhead/ 8.^ k. Hill Smithsonian Marine Station 2005. http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/Ariops_felis.htm 9.^ K. Hill Smithsonian Marine Station http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/Ariops_felis.htm"