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Channel Catfish Fish Identification, habitats, characteristics, fishing methods.
Channel catfish is the most popular and abundant sport and tasty fish. Their flesh is prized by many
anglers and the popularity of channel catfish for food has allowed the rapid growth of aquaculture of this
species. Fishing success will depend on your ability to find these concentrations of fish. The channel
catfish is an adaptable fish, usually found in clear, warm lakes and moderately large to large rivers,
over clean sand, gravel or rock-rubble bottoms. They prefer deep pools and runs in rivers that have
alternating pool and riffle habitats, could be found in reservoirs, lakes and farm ponds, and larger
streams.
A combination of understanding the fish and the techniques used to catch them will help you to hook more
fish to the end of your line. Better knowing and understanding of the fish that you are trying to catch
will make you a more successful angler, whether you are fishing for trout on a river or surfing on the
beach or trolling on the open water.
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Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. They are
also known as Willow Cat, Forked-tail Cat, Fiddler, Spotted Cat, and Lady Cat. The native range of
channel catfish is believed to be the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River watershed, the Missouri
River system, the Mississippi River watershed, Gulf of Mexico watershed and parts of Mexico. Channel
catfish are found in nearly all of our lakes, ponds, streams and rivers throughout the United
States.
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Description
Channel catfish are easily distinguished from all others, except
Blue catfish, by their deeply
forked tail fin. The upper jaw projects beyond the lower jaw which distinguishes Channel from flathead
catfish. Coloration depends on the color of the water they inhabit. They are olive-brown to back blue-gray
on the back and sides light blue to silvery with scattered dark olive to black spots, shading to
silvery-white on the belly. Adults have some small, black spots. In clear water they may appear almost
black, while in muddy water they may be a light yellow.
A channel catfish has a body is located on the back between the dorsal and caudal fins. They
can grow up to 4 ft (1.2 m) and weight up to 58 lbs (26.3 kg). They have wide head, flat to slightly
rounded above; eyes are large, above midline of head; 4 pairs of barbells around the mouth. The barbells
are arranged in a definite pattern with four under the jaw and one on each tip of the maxilla (upper jaw).
The channel catfish fins are sharp, hard spines a deeply forked tail. The anal fin has 24-31 nasty,
painful soft rays, while blue catfish always has 30 and more rays in the anal fin. Their caudal fin deeply
forked and outer edge of anal fin rounded. An adipose fin (lacking rays) shading to the off-white
ventrally.
Young channel catfish are irregularly spotted on their sides, but the spots tend to
disappear in the adults.
Habitat and Habits
In natural waters channel catfish live in moderate to swiftly flowing streams, but they are
also abundant in large reservoirs, lakes, ponds and some sluggish streams. They are usually found where
bottoms are sand, gravel or rubble, in preference to mud bottoms. They are seldom found in dense aquatic
weeds. Channel catfish are freshwater fish but they can thrive in brackish water.
Channel catfish generally prefer clear water streams, but are common and do well in muddy
water. During the day they are usually found in deep holes wherever the protection of logs and rocks can
be found. Most movement and feeding activity occurs at night just after sunset and just before sunrise.
Young channel catfish frequently feed in shallow riffle areas while the adults seem to feed in deeper
water immediately downstream from sand bars. Adults rarely move much from one area to another and are
rather sedentary, while young fish tend to move about much more extensively, particularly at night when
feeding.
Catfish, by and large, are omnivorous feeders with a well developed sense of smell. They
consume a wide variety of food items, and the fish is most often attracted to smelly morsels of food. The
single greatest determinant of catfish food preference is body size. Smaller catfish, those less than 14
inches, feed primarily on bottom-dwelling organisms, such as aquatic insect larvae and other
invertebrates. As catfish grow to a larger size after 16 inches, their diet changes and a wider variety of
food items are eaten, either alive or dead. Fish become an important part of the diet for channel catfish
larger than 18 inches total length, and in natural waters fish may constitute as much as 75 percent of
their diet.
The diet of channel catfish also varies with the different seasons. During late winter and
early spring the most abundant food is a wide variety of organisms, including fish that have succumbed to
the harsh winter. As the water warms into late spring and summer the diet of catfish shifts continually to
food items that are again most available and vulnerable. The most prevalent foods at this time of the year
are aquatic and terrestrial worms, fish, frogs, crayfish, mulberries, insects and their larvae forms, elm
seeds and algae. Many other items are consumed but usually make up only a small portion of the menu.
Catfish food habits in the fall along with aquatic invertebrates and terrestrial insects. Frogs become
increasingly important for food as they move into streams before the onset of winter. Under the ice cover
catfish feeding is reduced to a low level and consists mostly of dead fish that are picked up from the
bottom.
Feeding can occur during day or night, and they will eat a wide variety of both plant and
animal material. Channel catfish usually feed near the bottom in natural waters but will take some food
from the surface. The adults have a much more varied diet which includes insects, snails, crawfish, green
algae, aquatic plants, seeds and small fish. When available, they will feed avidly on terrestrial insects,
and there are even records of birds being eaten. Channel catfish primarily detect food with their sense of
taste. Taste buds are found over the entire external surface of catfish as well as inside the mouth,
pharynx and gill arches. They are most numerous on the barbells and gill arches. In clear water, eyesight
can be an important means of finding food. However, in turbid water, taste is the primary way catfish
locate food. The organ of smell (olfactory organs) may play some role. The olfactory organs are found in
the nostrils (nares) which are located on top of the head just in front of the eyes.
Spawning
Channel catfish spawn in late spring or early summer when water temperatures reach 75�F.
Males select nest sites which are normally dark secluded areas such as cavities in drift piles, logs,
undercut banks, rocks, cans, etc. A golden-yellow gelatinous egg mass is deposited in the bottom of the
nest.
Males guard the nest, and may actually eat some of the eggs if they are disturbed. The eggs,
if not devoured, typically hatch in about a week. Fry remain in the nest, under the guardianship of the
male, for about another week. In clear water, young fish appear to be much more susceptible to predation
and survival rates during the first year of life are much lower.
Channel catfish less than 4 inches in length feed primarily on small insects. Adults are
largely omnivorous, feeding on insects, mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and even some plant material. Sexual
maturity is reached in 2 to 6 years in captivity. Most are mature by the time they reach 12 inches in
length.
Fishing Methods.
Using the right bait is probably the most confusing part of channel catfish fishing. Bait
selection ranges from nightcrawlers, chicken blood, chicken liver, chicken or fish guts, crawdads,
grasshoppers, water dogs, live and dead minnows, cut bait, and a multitude of prepared "stink" baits. The
prepared baits most often have one thing in common -- cheese. The most important points to consider when
selecting catfish bait are to determine the size of fish sought and the water temperature of the lake or
river that will be fished.
The rule of thumb is to use cut-bait or dead minnows for the best luck in late winter and
spring-time just after ice-out. This bait is composed of half-rotten fish and should be fished when the
water temperature is less than 60 �F. Catfish actively feed on fish flesh and other animals that diet
during winter and sink to the bottom. The stronger the rotten odor of bait in winter, the better the
success in fishing. The shallow water warms faster and attracts catfish into the near-shore reaches.
Catfish can be caught under ice conditions, but feeding begins in earnest after the water temperature
reaches 40 �F.
The keen sense of smell possessed by channel catfish make it one of the few species of game
fish that can be readily caught during high stream flows in the spring, summer, and early fall. Fish
surely become more active during this time and less active during falling levels and are less susceptible
to the angler. During periods of stable or rising water levels nearly all baits will produce good catches
of catfish.
The prepared bait is most effective for pan-sized catfish during mid-summer -- June, July
and August when temperatures warm to 70 �F and above. Anglers seeking larger fish during this period use
large-sized baits such as dead bluegill, live chubs, water dogs, crayfish and frogs. Large catfish like a
good-sized meal and the movement of these creatures will attract their attention.
Lake anglers use relatively short rods, but stream anglers seem to have the best success
when using longer rods from 8 to 12 feet in length. The advantage to the longer rods, when stream fishing,
is the reach they afford for better placement of the bait when casting. Or just drop the line near a
likely spot with no more line out than the rod length that provides excellent control of the bait for
better placement and improves the chances of hooking a fish after a natural-like presentation. Ten-pound
test line is recommended over lighter weight line because the bait is fished on the bottom and often near
underwater snags.
Channel catfish is the most popular and abundant sport and tasty fish. Lakes and ponds also
produce excellent catfishing, and it is in these waters that the largest specimens are found. Catfish,
like all fish, are not randomly distributed, but are congregated in particular locations. Fishing success
will depend on your ability to find these concentrations of fish. Light tackle catches more fish, but
heavy tackle is required in snags and structure when catching large fish. Use dead minnows or cut-bait in
the late winter and early spring when the water temperature is 35 to 60 �F. Use prepared cheese baits in
the summer when the water temperature is above 70 �F. Cheese baits are most effective on fish 10 to 16
inches in length. Live bait is best for larger above 3 pounds fish.
Great rods for Channel catfish fishing are:
11 ft Light Casting
Rod
13 ft Tele Casting Rod
12ft Casting Fishing
Rod
15 ft Telescopic Fishing Surf
Casting Rod
18ft Telescopic Surf Casting
Rod
4.5m Telescopic Surf Casting
Rod
15 ft Telescopic Surf Casting Rod
98% Carbon
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