Mudpuppies: Graduate student looking for any reports of the big salamander from Fox River/Kane County

Joey Cannizzaro, a graduate student at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is looking for reports of mudpuppies from the Fox River or any waters of Kane County . . . if there are any such reports.

He messaged me a while back asking if I had ever seen a mudpuppy salamander on the Fox River.

I said I had not, nor have I ever had any reports from anglers.

He messaged back that the last historical reference he could find was in 1952. But he also said he heard reports of anglers seeing them at the McHenry Dam.

I will say this, if you see or catch a mudpuppy, it is a memorable experience. The nicknames waterdog seems like a good one for them. Most reports I receive of mudpuppies are from anglers on the lakefront (generally Navy Pier) or Wolf Lake.

If you have a report for the Fox River or Kane County, reach me and I will pass it on to Cannizzaro.

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