The Channel catfish is one of the most popular game fish in North America. Their native range begins in southern Canada and extends through the middle of the United States to Mexico. Due to their popularity, size, and good flavor when cooked, they have been introduced to many other places within the United States and 32 other countries.
Appearance
Channel catfish have smooth, scales bodies making it easy to distinguish them from other species of fish. The channel catfish is olive to light blue with black speckles on the sides. The older the channel catfish gets, the more the spots disappear. It has a forked tail and whisker-like organs around the mouth with a broad flat head and a slender body. Male channel catfish are darker in color and have larger heads than females. They have whisker-like organs around their mouths called barbells. They use their barbells to locate food in turbid waters. On average, channel catfish measure between 12 to 24 inches long and weigh between 2-7 pounds. Some grow much larger. The world record Channel Cat measured 52 inches and weighed in at 58 pounds.
Feeding
Channel catfish eat different foods, including mollusks, insects, crustaceans, snakes, snakes, and young birds. They also feed on other types of fish. Younger channel fish eat both small animals and plants, making them more omnivorous. The channel fish can taste their surroundings with their skin due to the location of taste buds found all over their bodies. The ability to taste things within their environment helps to detect and pursue nearby prey effectively. Catfish have poor eyesight and often live in brackish water; hence they rely on their sensory barbells to find prey.
Predators
Bigger fish such as Blue catfish prey on young and adult channel catfish. Birds such as bald eagles and osprey that feed on fish eat the young channel fish. Eggs laid by channel catfish are a food source for different animals.
About half of all catfish species, including Channel catfish, have spines in their pectoral and dorsal fins that distribute a venom that they use to defend themselves when attacked by predators. When the fish feels threatened, it can extend these spines, making its body wider. When a bigger fish bites down on the spines, it will puncture its mouth. This also activates venom glands that are adjacent to the spines. The venom spills out onto the spines and into the open wound which has been created.
A fisherman can also be stuck or finned if they’re not paying attention. Being stuck by a channel catfish spine will cause redness, swelling, and general irritation at the affected area. It’s important to know how to handle these fish to avoid being stuck. Smaller fish are the most dangerous. As the fish gets larger, its venom glands recede away, and its spines become blunt. Source
How To Grip A Catfish
When you handle a catfish, grip them behind the pectoral fins. This helps you avoid getting finned. You don’t need to grip them so hard that you cause injury but grip them firmly enough to keep them under control. If you allow them to flop around uncontrollably, you’ll be more likely to get stuck. You can grip them from the belly or from on top of their back and then down behind their pectoral fins if they’re small enough to get your hand around. Top grip a catfish from the top-down, grip them behind their dorsal fin. Put your thumb on one side and your four fingers on the other. Remember that their third spike is located at the front of the dorsal fin and keep it under control.
Reproduction and Life cycle
Channel catfish spawn from May to July. During this period, the water temperatures are at 16-24 degrees C or 62 to 78 degrees F. Channel catfish are monogamous. The couples make a nest in safe areas such as submerged logs or on rocks.
The female catfish will lay anywhere from 3,000 up to 50,000 eggs. The eggs are around .1 inch in diameter. The process of fertilization takes between 4-6 hours. The male watches over the eggs after they are laid. The eggs take an average of eight days to hatch. Hatched catfish fry stay in the nest for about a week and then in a school for two to three weeks. During this time, they’re watched over by their father. The channel catfish has a life span of between 14 to 16 years. Some individuals may live up to 40 years.
Channel Catfish Vs. Blue Catfish
Channel and blue catfish have many similar characteristics, but distinct features can make it easy to distinguish between each species. Under the right conditions, the blue catfish can get well above 100 pounds, while the channel catfish world record is 58 pounds. Both blue catfish and channel catfish have forked tails. Most blue catfish are blueish-grey, with most fish having shading from blue to white towards the belly. The channel catfish, on the other hand, is olive-brown brown to gray. The channel catfish has an anal fin that is rounded with 24 to 29 rays, while the blue catfish’s anal fin is straight with 30 to 36 rays. Channel catfish have dark spots on the skin, but many larger channel catfish do not have any spots. The channels fight harder, but the blues grow bigger.
Channel Catfish Vs. Flathead Catfish
- Channel Cat fish are grey to olive green in color while Flathead Catfish are yellow to light brown.
- Channel Cats have a forked tail. On the other hand, Flatheads have a straight tail.
- The anal fin on a Channel Catfish is long and curved while a Flathead’s anal fin is proportionately shorter and rounded in appearance.
- The upper jaw of a Channel Catfish hangs over it’s lower jaw while with a Flathead the opposite is true. A Flathead Catfish’s lower jaw extends past it’s upper jaw.
- An average sized Channel Catfish will be 10 to 20 inches long while an average sized Flathead will be 20 to 30
- The world record Channel Catfish weighed in at 58 lbs . Flathead Catfish on the other hand, have the potential to grow to over 100 lbs.
Best Bait For Channel Fish
Channel catfish are not selective eaters and will eat anything as long as it smells or tastes appealing. When targeting channel catfish, getting the right bait is key to catching fish. Choosing the right bait will help you catch more fish. There are natural baits that are found in the water. Baits such as shad and sunfish occur naturally in water and are excellent for catching large fish. The unnatural baits are not found in water.
The unnatural baits are mostly used to catch smaller fish. Unnatural baits best for channel catfish include dough bait, chicken liver, stink bait, among others. The type of bait you choose is dependent on the type of water body. The primary food source that flattens up the big fish will vary as per the body of water. You need to decide which fish you want to catch before you go fishing.
The best options for the baits are those that strike an even balance between size and numbers. The main forage depending on the body of water, is the best one for fishing.
Shad
A water body with shad means that that is their primary food. Channel catfish will eat shad before touching anything else, making it highly effective when used as bait. The adult diet mostly consists of shad, making it the best option when looking for trophy catches. Shad can be used when dead or alive or cut as bait.
Sunfish – Bluegill, pumpkin seed, and small Shell cracker-When shad are absent, and sunfish becomes the main forage. The Bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, and redear sunfish make the best live bait. These are harder to swallow due to the presence of spiny dorsal fins found on their backs. Sunfish are most effective when used with spines attached when fishing them whole and alive. Sunfish are a great alternative in hotter weather. They are less prone to injury compared to shad and stay alive longer.
Worms- Red worms, Nightcrawlers, Bloodworms
Worms often produce much smaller fish but very consistently. They are ideal for anyone who wants to take kids fishing. Channel catfish love earthworms are making them a great bait for smaller catfish. Use worms that are available in your area.
Grasshoppers and Crickets
Catfish will take grasshoppers on top of the water. This makes for some exciting fishing as you get to watch the fish boil beneath your bait and take it before you set the hook.
Either thread your hook through the insect’s hard thorax or attach it to the hook with a small rubber band. Flip the hopper to its intended destination. Using extra weight for casting will make your bait sink, so if you want to experience topwater fishing, you might want to use fly fishing gear where longer casts are required.
How To Catch Channel Catfish
When river fishing, check pools below rapids, eddies behind river bends or sandbars, places where a new inlet enters the river, or just anywhere that the river’s current is modified to create a pool.
Catfish hold to structure or cover that breaks up to the main current. They hold behind rocks, logs, or any debris. Even an old tire will do as long as the structure makes their life easier. Catfishing at night is easier since it’s cooler. At night fish show up in much shallower water. Catfish have no problem tracking down forage in the dark since they are scent-based hunters. During the day, hunt for them in deeper waters.
How To Fillet Channel Catfish
First of all, we’re assuming that the fish is dead. Catfish are extremely tough and can survive out of water for a surprisingly long time. The surest way to make sure a catfish is dead is to sever its spinal column at the base of its skull with the tip of your filleting knife.
- Now remove as much slime from the fish as possible. You can accomplish this by scrubbing it down with any coarsely woven cloth.
- Place the catfish on flat surface such as a counter top. Cut through this fish’s skin with the tip of your fillet knife just in front of the adipose fin. “The adipose fin is located on the fish’s topside between the dorsal fin and the tail.” Start cutting forward to the dorsal fin.
- Cut along the ribs, pealing the meat away from them but taking care not to cut through them.
- Cut a ring just through the skin just behind the head. Bring the horizontal cut your bringing along the fish’s back forward to meet the lateral cut you’ve made behind the fish’s head.
- Now use the tip of your fillet knife to make an incision from the bottom of the lateral cut you have just made behind the fish’s head back along the fish’s ribs toward it’s tail. Be certain to cut along it’s ribs but not through them. Continue cutting until you meet up with the initial cut you made behind the fish’s adipose fin. If the top and bottom cuts you have made along the fish’s ribs have not separated the meat from the ribs completely you’ll have to finish the job now with a sharp filleting blade. When that is done you’ll be left with a complete fillet.
- Now you must remove the skin from the fillet. Lay the fillet flesh side down and begin to peal back the skin using a sharp filleting knife to separate it from the meat.
- Flip the fish over and repeat the same process on it’s other side.
How To Prepare Channel Catfish
The best way to prepare channel catfish is to marinate the fillets in water with a bit of salt and vinegar overnight. This will eliminate the fishy flavor. Season with your favorite spices. Grill at moderate heat. Alternatively, put fillets in batter and deep fry in peanut oil when hot. When golden brown, remove them from the heat and put them on paper towels. You can buy fish batter or make your own. Deep fry the fillets in moderate heat. Cook the fillets for about 5 minutes until golden brown.
