Conservation Corner: June 14, 1999

The Channel Catfish
by James L. Cummins

The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is one of the most sought after gamefish in Mississippi. Each year thousands of anglers take to the water in search of these whiskered critters. Advocates of the rod and reel, cane pole, trot line, jug fishing or for the brave at heart, hand grabbing, can all be successful when it comes to catching catfish.

Channel catfish are long and slender smooth-skinned fish with a deeply forked tail fin. The adipose fin (along the back between the dorsal fin and tail fin) forms a free, flap-like lobe. The upper jaw projects beyond the lower jaw and has a tooth pad.

The back and sides of the channel catfish are olive-brown or slate blue, usually with few to many roundish black spots (spots are often absent in the smallest young and larger adults). The belly is silvery-white. Fins are yellow or dusky, often with a narrow black fringe. As with many species of fish, these colors are more intense in breeding males.

Adult channel catfish are generally 12 to 32 inches long and weigh 0.5 to 18 pounds. The current state record is 48 lbs 7 oz.

Channel catfish occur in a variety of habitats, but they prefer streams and rivers having low or moderate gradients. Adults are usually found in the larger pools, in deep water or around submerged logs and other cover. The young often occur in riffles or the shallower parts of pools.

During daylight hours adult channel catfish retire to deep water or lie about drift piles, submerged logs or other cover. At night they move into riffles or into the shallows of pools to feed. Food is located primarily by taste and to a lesser extent by sight. Most of a channel catfish's food comes from the bottom.

The diet of the channel catfish varies; it includes fish, insects, crayfish, mollusks (mussels) and plant material. Channel catfish less than 4 inches long feed almost on small insects.

Channel catfish spawn from late April through early June. Prior to spawning, the male selects and cleans out a nest site usually in natural cavities around piles of drift, logs or undercut banks. Semi-darkness and seclusion are major factors in the choice of a site. Females do not normally participate in the selection of a nest site or in care of the young.

The female deposits eggs in the bottom of the nest as a gelatinous mass of about 20,000 eggs. They hatch in about 7 days and the fry remain in the nest for 7 or 8 more days. The male guards the fry only until they leave the nest. As with other species of fish, survival of fry during the first year is low.

Channel catfish mature around the age of 4 to 5 years and sometimes live for more than 10 years; their life span does not usually exceed 6 or 7 years.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi.