 CHANNEL CATFISH
Scientific Name: Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque)
Other
Common Names: spotted catfish, silver catfish, speckled catfish,
forked-tail catfish, fiddler
Identification
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. Habitats and
Habits
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.
Channel catfish
are an important part of the Commission’s
Community Fishing Program. 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. Young channel catfish feed mainly on plankton and aquatic insect
larvae. As they grow older, they feed on aquatic invertebrates 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.
Fishing Techniques
Channel
catfish feed mostly at night and are especially active from sunset
to midnight. “Stink” baits
(cut fish, chicken livers, cheese, shrimp, crayfish blood baits,
etc.) are some of the best natural baits to use. Deep-diving crank
baits fished slowly along the bottom, spoons and, occasionally, spinners
are popular artificial lures. The best months to fish for channel
catfish are April, May, September and October.
Good
Places to Fish
The Black, Cape
Fear, Lumber, Neuse and Yadkin/Pee Dee rivers are good places to
fish. Community Fishing Program sites
are stocked periodically with harvestable-size channel catfish
from April through September and offer some of the best catfishing
in
the state.
NCARP Minimum
Requirements: 10
pounds or 30 inches.
State
Record:
Open. Vacated May 2005.
World
Record: 58 pounds from the Santee-Cooper Reservoir
in S.C., July 7, 1964*
* Anglers
provide information on their potential world-record catches directly
to the International
Game Fish Association, which maintains the world records
for sport fishing.
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