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Channel Catfish
Species Information
| Scientific Name: | Ictalurus punctatus |
| Environment: | Lake, River |
| Ideal Temp: | 75-86ºF (24-30ºC) |
| Technique: | Bottom Fishing |
| Lure Type: | Bottom Rig |
| World Record: | 26.30 kg (58 lb 0 oz) Santee-Cooper Reservoir, South Carolina, USA 07-Jul-1964 |
| Other Names: | channel catfish, channel cat |
The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, they are the most fished catfish species with around 8 million anglers targeting them per year.
The channel catfish has a deeply forked tail with black spots on its back and sides. Its top and sides vary from gray to slate-blue and are often olive with a yellow sheen. Its body is scaleless, and it has eight barbels (whiskers) around its mouth that serve as taste sensors for locating food. To distinguish between a channel catfish and a blue catfish, look at the anal fin. The anal fin of a channel catfish is round with 24 to 29 rays. The anal fin of a blue catfish has a straight outer edge and 30 to 36 rays.
Young channel catfish feed mainly on plankton and aquatic insect larvae. As they grow older, they feed on aquatic in-vertebrates and small fish. Adults are omnivorous, eating plant material, insect larvae, crayfish, mollusks, small fish and even dead fish. They are bottom feeders and rely on taste buds on their skin and barbels to locate food.
Native to the Mississippi Basin, channel catfish have been introduced throughout the United States. Highly adaptable, they are found in ponds, streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs throughout North Carolina. Tens of thousands of channel catfish are grown in the agency’s state hatcheries annually and stocked at various Community Fishing Program sites to provide angling opportunities in urban settings.
Latest Channel Catfish Fishing Reports and Spots
February has been an awesome month of fishing. The catfish action has been red hot. We’ve been catching trophy blue catfish and excellent numbe (
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The October and early November fishing here in Fort Worth was yet again nothing short of amazing. We’re catching excellent numbers of blue and (
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It seems like Fall is finally here and the Texas heat has broken for the summer. Texas fishing guides always welcome the break in the heat this (
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It’s that time of year the channel catfish are firing up and the white bass are on the move! The bite will continue to improve over the next co (
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The July fishing here in Fort Worth was simply nothing short of amazing and I fully expect this bite will continue through August and September (
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The August fishing here in Fort Worth was again nothing short of amazing. We’ve continued to catch amazing numbers of blue catfish and channel (
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The August fishing here in Fort Worth was again nothing short of amazing. We’ve continued to catch amazing numbers of blue catfish and channel c (
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The July fishing here in Fort Worth was simply nothing short of amazing and I fully expect this bite will continue through August and September. (
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