Channel Catfish
Ictalurus punctatus
An adaptable bottom-feeder with sensitive whisker-like barbels used to locate food by smell and taste, the channel catfish thrives in warm rivers, reservoirs, and lakes across the continent. It's a favorite for night fishing with cut bait or stink bait near deep holes and current breaks.
Deep holes, current breaks, and murky bottoms in warm water.
Channel Catfish Habitat & Size
Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is associated with river water, lake water, and reservoir water in the species record. Habitat information describes the species, not permission to fish for it. The recorded average size is approximately 20 inches; individual sizes vary.
Recorded Waters for Channel Catfish
FishFinder links Channel Catfish to water records in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Saskatchewan, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These associations may reflect documented presence, seasonal runs, or historical stocking, not angler catch reports or current abundance. Read the linked water guides and source notes for evidence dates and reaches.
Channel Catfish Fishing Regulations & Limits
A recorded association does not establish that targeting or retaining Channel Catfish is permitted. Confirm current species protections, seasonal and emergency closures, reach-specific rules, gear restrictions, bag and size limits with the responsible fisheries authority before fishing. A fishing license does not override these restrictions. FishFinder's regulation records may be incomplete; missing rules do not mean unrestricted fishing.
Related Water Guides for Channel Catfish
Explore these FishFinder water guides for places where Channel Catfish is recorded:
- Mississippi River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Yellowstone River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Columbia River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Winnipeg — recorded Channel Catfish association
- South Saskatchewan River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Qu'Appelle River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Red River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Assiniboine River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake of the Prairies — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Winnipeg River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Guntersville — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wheeler Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wilson Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pickwick Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Weiss Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lay Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Logan Martin Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Neely Henry Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Martin — recorded Channel Catfish association
- R.L. Harris Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Yates Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Thurlow Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Walter F. George Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- West Point Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lewis Smith Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Alabama River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Mobile-Tensaw Delta — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Jackson (Florala) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Powell — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Mead — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Mohave — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Havasu — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Colorado River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Theodore Roosevelt Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Apache Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Canyon Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Saguaro Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Bartlett Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Pleasant — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Alamo Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Upper Lake Mary — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Chevelon Canyon Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Becker Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Bull Shoals Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Norfork — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Beaver Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Greers Ferry Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Ouachita — recorded Channel Catfish association
- DeGray Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Greeson — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Dardanelle — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Chicot — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Buffalo National River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Arkansas River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lower Mississippi River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Clear Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Shasta Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Oroville — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Folsom Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Berryessa — recorded Channel Catfish association
- San Luis Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- New Melones Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Diamond Valley Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Sonoma — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pine Flat Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Almanor — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Castaic Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sacramento River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Feather River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- American River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Colorado River (California) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Cahuilla — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Navajo Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Chatfield Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pueblo Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- John Martin Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Horsetooth Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Lillinonah — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Zoar — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Connecticut River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Nanticoke River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Delaware River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Chesapeake & Delaware Canal — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Okeechobee — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake George — recorded Channel Catfish association
- St. Johns River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Rodman Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Suwannee River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Santa Fe River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Seminole — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Talquin — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Chipola River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Apalachicola River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Perdido River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Ochlockonee River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- St. Marys River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Walter F. George — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Coosa River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Etowah River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Flint River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Savannah River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Altamaha River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Ogeechee River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Oconee River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wahiawā Reservoir (Lake Wilson) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- C.J. Strike Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Brownlee Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Lowell — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Snake River (Hells Canyon) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Mississippi River (Illinois-Iowa Border) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Ohio River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wabash River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Illinois River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Heidecke Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Braidwood Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- LaSalle Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Powerton Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Clinton Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sangchris Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Decatur — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Springfield — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Coffeen Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Carlyle Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Rend Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Kinkaid Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Crab Orchard Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Ohio River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wabash River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- White River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Tippecanoe River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sugar Creek — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Blue River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Monroe Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Patoka Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Brookville Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cecil M. Harden Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cagles Mill Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Mississinewa Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Salamonie Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- J. Edward Roush Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Turtle Creek Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Wawasee — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Webster Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Geist Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- West Okoboji Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Spirit Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Clear Lake (Iowa) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Storm Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Big Creek Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pleasant Creek Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Rathbun — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Saylorville Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Red Rock — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Coralville Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Mississippi River (Iowa Waters) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Missouri River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Big Sioux River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cedar River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Des Moines River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Iowa River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Upper Iowa River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Turkey River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Milford Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wilson Reservoir (Kansas) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cheney Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Clinton Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Perry Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- El Dorado Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Kanopolis Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Glen Elder Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Tuttle Creek Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Melvern Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cedar Bluff Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Council Grove Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Marion Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pomona Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Hillsdale Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Big Hill Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- John Redmond Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lovewell Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Kansas River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Arkansas River (Kansas) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Kentucky Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Barkley — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Cumberland — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Dale Hollow Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Barren River Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cave Run Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Green River Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Taylorsville Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Nolin River Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Rough River Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Laurel River Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Grayson Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Buckhorn Lake (Kentucky) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Dewey Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Fishtrap Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Yatesville Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Herrington Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cumberland River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Kentucky River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Elkhorn Creek — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Green River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Toledo Bend Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Caddo Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sabine River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Poverty Point Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- False River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Eagle Lake (Louisiana) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- John K. Kelly-Grand Bayou Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Bussey Brake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- D'Arbonne Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Atchafalaya Basin — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lac des Allemands — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Verret — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Bistineau — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cross Lake (Louisiana) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Claiborne — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Chicot Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Black Lake (Louisiana) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Red River (Louisiana) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Ouachita River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Henderson Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Potomac River (Upper) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Monocacy River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Liberty Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Loch Raven Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Piney Run Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Little Seneca Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Conowingo Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Triadelphia Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Connecticut River (Massachusetts) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake St. Clair (Michigan) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Saginaw Bay — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Erie (Michigan) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Thornapple Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- St. Croix River (Minnesota) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Pepin — recorded Channel Catfish association
- St. Louis River Estuary — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Red River of the North — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Big Stone Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Ross Barnett Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Grenada Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sardis Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Enid Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Arkabutla Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pickwick Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Eagle Lake (Mississippi) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Washington — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Moon Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Choctaw Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Davis Lake (Chickasaw County) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Lamar Bruce — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Monroe — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Okhissa — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Calling Panther Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Neshoba County Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Tangipahoa (Percy Quin State Park) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pascagoula River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Bogue Homa — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake of the Ozarks — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Harry S. Truman Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Table Rock Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Bull Shoals Lake (Missouri) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Norfork Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Stockton Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pomme de Terre Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Mark Twain Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Smithville Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wappapello Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Long Branch Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Thomas Hill Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Montrose Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Current River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Meramec River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Big Piney River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Gasconade River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- James River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Elk River (Missouri) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Mississippi River (Pools 20-26) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Missouri River (Montana) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Bighorn River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Bighorn Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Fort Peck Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Tongue River Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Musselshell River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake McConaughy — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Ogallala — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Merritt Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Calamus Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Harlan County Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sherman Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Elwood Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Branched Oak Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Wanahoo — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lewis and Clark Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Missouri River (Nebraska Waters) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Box Butte Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Minatare — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Zorinsky Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Red Willow Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Grove Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Two Rivers SRA — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wagon Train Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Prairie Queen Recreation Area — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sutherland Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Johnson Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Maloney — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Willow Creek Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lahontan Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Rye Patch Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Washoe Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wildhorse Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- South Fork Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Mead (Nevada) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Mohave (Nevada) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Colorado River below Davis Dam — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Hopatcong — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Greenwood Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Spruce Run Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Monksville Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Mercer Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Alloway Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Manasquan Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Union Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Delaware River (New Jersey) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Raritan River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Navajo Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Abiquiu Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cochiti Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Elephant Butte Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Caballo Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Conchas Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Ute Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Santa Rosa Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sumner Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Brantley Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Bluewater Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Clayton Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Roberts — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Bill Evans Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- San Juan River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pecos River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Animas River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Hudson River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Norman — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Wylie — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Badin Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Tillery — recorded Channel Catfish association
- High Rock Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- B. Everett Jordan Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Shearon Harris Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- John H. Kerr Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Gaston — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Roanoke Rapids Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Roanoke River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cape Fear River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Neuse River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- New River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Dan River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Sakakawea — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Oahe — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Missouri River (North Dakota) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Garrison Dam Tailrace — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Heart Butte Reservoir (Lake Tschida) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Red River (North Dakota) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Bois de Sioux River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Maumee River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sandusky River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Ohio River (Ohio) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pymatuning Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Alum Creek Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Hoover Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Indian Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Buckeye Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Grand Lake St. Marys — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Mosquito Creek Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Berlin Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- West Branch Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- LaDue Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Milton — recorded Channel Catfish association
- C.J. Brown Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Salt Fork Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Paint Creek Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Caesar Creek Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Rocky Fork Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Piedmont Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Seneca Lake (Ohio) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Tappan Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Knox Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Acton Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Burr Oak Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Texoma — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Grand Lake O' the Cherokees — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Eufaula — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Tenkiller — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Fort Gibson Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Skiatook Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sooner Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Thunderbird — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Carl Blackwell — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Arcadia Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Hefner — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Overholser — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Arbuckle Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Konawa Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Great Salt Plains Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Broken Bow Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Murray — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Keystone Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Blue River (Oklahoma) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Illinois River (Oklahoma) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Arkansas River (Oklahoma) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Kiamichi River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lower Red River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- John Day River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Umatilla River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Susquehanna River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Juniata River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Arthur — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Nockamixon Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Blue Marsh Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Marburg — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Shenango River Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Frances Slocum Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Marion — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Moultrie — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Murray (South Carolina) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Greenwood — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Wateree — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Sharpe — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Francis Case — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Traverse — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Poinsett — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Kampeska — recorded Channel Catfish association
- James River (South Dakota) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Angostura Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Belle Fourche Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Shadehill Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cheyenne River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Grand River (South Dakota) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- White River (South Dakota) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Reelfoot Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Old Hickory Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- J. Percy Priest Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cordell Hull Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Tims Ford Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Center Hill Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Chickamauga Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Nickajack Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Watts Bar Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Parksville Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Fort Loudoun Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Melton Hill Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Norris Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cherokee Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Douglas Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Boone Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- South Holston Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Watauga Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Duck River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Fork — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sam Rayburn Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- O.H. Ivie Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Alan Henry — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Athens — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Conroe — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Livingston — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Trinity River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Choke Canyon Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Ray Hubbard — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Tawakoni — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Richland Chambers Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Bob Sandlin — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake O' the Pines — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Fayette County Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Grapevine Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lady Bird Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Guadalupe River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Devils River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Falcon International Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Amistad — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Whitney — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Possum Kingdom Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Belton — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Utah Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Willard Bay Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Pineview Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Green River (Utah) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Yuba Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Smith Mountain Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Buggs Island Lake (Kerr Reservoir) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Claytor Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Anna — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Moomaw — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Briery Creek Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sandy River Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Flannagan Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Leesville Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Philpott Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- James River (Virginia) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Shenandoah River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Clinch River (Virginia) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Staunton River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- North Fork Holston River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Sprague Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Washington (Seattle) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Sammamish — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Silver Lake (Cowlitz County) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Snake River (Washington) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Yakima River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Ohio River (West Virginia) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Kanawha River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- New River (West Virginia) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Greenbrier River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Elk River (West Virginia) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Gauley River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Monongahela River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- South Branch Potomac River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Summersville Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Cheat Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Stonewall Jackson Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Bluestone Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Beech Fork Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Mount Storm Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- R.D. Bailey Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- North Bend Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Burnsville Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Stonecoal Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Winnebago — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wolf River (Wisconsin) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Green Bay — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lower Fox River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Mississippi River (Wisconsin-Minnesota Boundary) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- St. Croix River (Wisconsin) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wisconsin River — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Petenwell — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Castle Rock Lake — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Mendota — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Lake Koshkonong — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Keyhole Reservoir (Wyoming) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- North Platte River (Wyoming) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Glendo Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Grayrocks Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Ocean Lake (Wyoming) — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Hawk Springs Reservoir — recorded Channel Catfish association
- Wheatland Reservoir No. 3 — recorded Channel Catfish association
Equipment planning for Channel Catfish
We have not selected a species-specific affiliate setup for this guide. First establish whether targeting is permitted at your destination; no tackle recommendation should be inferred from a species record.
Equipment guidance is not permission to fish. Confirm the exact water, date, species, method and current official rules first. A closed season prohibits targeting, even with release. Recorded fish presence does not establish an open fishery.
- Check permitted methods, bait and hook restrictions before choosing tackle. Match rod, line and lure ratings to the lawful method and conditions, rather than buying by species name alone.
- Plan weather protection, drinking water and a way to call for help. For boat trips, confirm required flotation and safety equipment with the responsible boating authority.
- Read the habitat and water-specific source notes in this guide, then confirm an appropriate lawful method with the local fisheries authority before choosing equipment. Do not assume a general freshwater combo suits every species or water.
This is an editorial planning checklist, not hands-on product testing. Use equipment you already own when suitable. The gear directory contains affiliate links; any product suggestions below have their own disclosure. Retailer region, availability and Canadian shipping are not guaranteed.
Browse the gear directory · Find official fishing-rule sources · Affiliate disclosure
Channel Catfish Regulations
Review available regulation records and confirm whether fishing for Channel Catfish is permitted with the responsible fisheries authority:
Frequently Asked Questions
What water types are associated with Channel Catfish?
The species record associates Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) with river water, lake water, and reservoir water. Habitat information is not evidence of current abundance or permission to target the species.
How big does Channel Catfish get?
The recorded average size for Channel Catfish is approximately 20 inches. Individual sizes vary; this average is not a maximum size or a legal retention limit.
Where does FishFinder record water associations for Channel Catfish?
FishFinder links Channel Catfish to water records in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Saskatchewan, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These associations may reflect documented presence, seasonal runs, or historical stocking, not angler catch reports. Check the linked water guides and source notes for evidence dates and reaches; a listing does not guarantee current presence or legal fishing opportunity.
Does a listing or fishing license permit fishing for Channel Catfish?
No. A listing records an association, not permission to target or retain Channel Catfish. License requirements and exemptions vary. Confirm current species protections, seasonal and emergency closures, reach-specific rules, gear restrictions, bag and size limits with the responsible fisheries authority. A license does not override restrictions, and missing FishFinder regulation records do not mean unrestricted fishing.