By Biff and Susan Andrews

It’s March, so the James, Pagan and Nansemond rivers and Chuckatuck and Lawnes creeks are all filled with blue catfish.

That’s either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view. They’re easy to catch, but slimy. They’re ugly, but people love to eat them. They’re taking over our waters, but people love to catch them.

A little history: Blue cats were introduced to the James and Rappahannock rivers in the mid-1970s, coming from mid-American rivers — the Ohio and others. The purpose was to introduce a sport-fish industry.

But nobody realized how successful the fish would be. They are now in every Chesapeake Bay tributary by the millions. The abundance of fish has grown like wildfire — to the point where the NOAA Chesapeake Bay office now has an Invasive Catfish Task Force.

From Richmond to Newport News, all creeks and tributaries are crammed with them, especially Lawnes Creek, according to biofishers.

The problem is that they eat our native species — shad, herring, eels and crabs — and they grow to more than 100 pounds, so they take a lot of feeding. And one needs to take care about eating them.

Catching them is not hard. Bait a hook of any size, shape or description with baitfish, squid, stinkbaits, chicken livers, cheese, hot dogs, bacon … they’ll bite it. You can fish with trotlines, jug floats, from shore or by boat.

The really big ones are up around Hopewell, where a sizable sport fishery with guides has developed. Fish are regularly taken in the 30- to 60-pound class. The state record is 102 pounds. Only one fish longer than 32 inches may be kept per day, but otherwise there’s no limit. Fishing is best at night.

Because so many fish are being taken, companies like Profish Ltd. in the Washington, D.C., area are selling 300,000 pounds a year. They have a public fund based on a percentage of their catch — “Charity Off the Hook” — that contributes thousands of dollars a year to charity. The Wide Net Project is a non-profit that sells to food pantries and community service programs at below-cost prices.

But there’s one caveat. The Virginia Department of Health recommends that fish longer than 32 inches should not be eaten at all, and that catfish of any size for dinner more than twice a month is a bad idea. The problem is that blue catfish store PCBs.

The fish seem to stay in our area’s rivers and creeks until May, when croaker and spot arrive. You have two months to fill your freezer, if you wish.

So there’s the situation: On the plus side, blue catfish make fishermen happy, they are easily caught, and they are highly edible in limited quantities. On the negative side, they threaten native species, they may take over totally, and they’re slimy, ugly, and carry PCBs.

Maybe next time Virginia’s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will think long and hard about introducing a non-native species.

What’s a fisherman to do?

Susan and Bradford “Biff” Andrews are retired teachers who have been outdoor people all their lives, exploring and enjoying the woods, swamps, rivers and beaches throughout the region for many years. Email them at b.andrews22@live.com.