Let's see those fish

[jperch]

Not nasty it's a hellbender and protected pretty much everywhere it lives and one cool salamander I hope you didn't kill it because a lot of work has been done to keep them from disappearing

I didn't know we had hellbenders in NYS.  I've seen lots of mudpuppies in bays of Lake Ontario but never a hellbender.  From what I read, lack of external gills and wrinkly skin differentiates it from a mudpuppy.  Very cool looking critter.

[Raquettedacker]

That’s real neat John. I saw one on the ice this year ice fishing I bay and luckily it was still alive and I put it back down the hole. I wonder why people just kill them. Makes no sense to me.

  That might have been a mudpuppy?
Hellbenders usually live in streams and rivers….

[gotagetm]

Dom
I believe that was out of allegany river

[Raquettedacker]

Dom
I believe that was out of allegany river

  Nice. The one PQ probably saw was a mudpuppy.
 We used to find / catch hellbenders on the Delaware River in Pennsylvania back in the 70’s while camping..

[Raquettedacker]

Once you have seen both you can tell the difference..

[Pequod1]

Thank you for the correction. The one I saw this winter was probably a mud puppy.  Both are really cool animals .

[fishinjohn]

If you don't mind can you pm me the location I am a reptile guy have been my whole life and have never seen one and would like to thanks either way for not killing it

P.M. sent

[greensider]

Thanks for the info

[Badbrad2186]

If you don't mind can you pm me the location I am a reptile guy have been my whole life and have never seen one and would like to thanks either way for not killing it

I must have caught and released 20-25 of them this winter on Canandaigua

[greensider]

Probably mud puppies they are often caught ice fishing they are much smaller than hellbenders

[Badbrad2186]

Probably mud puppies they are often caught ice fishing they are much smaller than hellbenders

.

Wish I took pictures these were huge bigger than any mud puppies I've ever seen

[greensider]

Only reason I said that is there numbers are not that high anywhere if you think that's what they are you should contact Dec or dnr what ever you have and give them the info there are studies and efforts to save them going on in many areas

[youngster]

dec told me hellbenders around means quality of water pretty good, got some big ones down olean, allegany river   . caught quite a few one day. i think they are protected believe or not, and i think the rez was raisin them for awhile, maybe fishinjon can chime in on that. goodluck stay safe

[youngster]

DEC told me same thing about the lamprey eels ive been gettin on carp last week and last 5 years, was told theyre are same as lake eries eels but sure look like it to me,  ugly ba$#* rds   thwy say there come up from ohio way not same as lake eels, these are hangin right out the gills of the carp,  im usually catch and release but not those eels, im sure there some fish in there that eat and probably part of food chain.

[Badbrad2186]

Only reason I said that is there numbers are not that high anywhere if you think that's what they are you should contact Dec or dnr what ever you have and give them the info there are studies and efforts to save them going on in many areas

I thought they where over sized mud puppies until I actually caught a smaller one and my buddy said that's a mud puppy. I said yeah I know you should have seen the size of the ones I caught earlier he said pry hell benders. In my 5-6 trips I caught 4-5 each time. Some smaller mud puppies and some way bigger hell benders. Either way both are striving in Canandaigua lake it's a very clean lake here can see the bottom in 20-30fow