Channel Catfish

This report will tell you everything you need to know about channel catfish!

A channel catfish lives fifteen to twenty years. By the time the channel catfish is twenty years old it has grown to a maximum length of twenty inches. The catfish can reach up to sixty pounds, but the average weight of a channel catfish is five to twenty pounds. The channel catfish has a blue-gray tail, silvery-gray sides, and a white belly. The younger channel catfish have scattered black spots that disappear as the catfish grow older. The channel catfish also has whiskers called barbels.

This section is going to be about the channel catfish’s eating habits.

 The channel catfish eats aquatic insects, crayfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and smaller fish. The catfish feeds only at night. The catfish uses it’s barbels to feel around the bottom for food. Usually, the channel catfish feeds on the bottom, but sometimes the channel catfish will feed at the surface. The channel catfish is also an omnivore.

This paragraph is going to be about the channel catfish’s habitat.

 The channel catfish live in fairly warm rivers and streams.  They prefer a warm, dry climate, but will tolerate cooler and wetter climates. They also prefer clear water, but they will live in muddy water too. They are usually found in North America, Canada, and Mexico.

This section is about babies, eggs, and spawning.
 The channel catfish mate in the early spring. They nest under banks or logs. They spawn from May to July. The female can lay from two thousand to twenty-one thousand eggs. The female prefers to lay her eggs in water that is seventy to eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit. The eggs are a dirty yellow color, and they blend in with the muddy bottom. When the eggs are laid the male swims over and fertilizes them. When the eggs are fertilized the male drives the female away from the nest and guards the fry himself. (Fry is what they call a group of channel catfish babies.)  The babies hatch in six to ten days. When they are one year old the babies are four inches long. When they are four years old they are twelve inches long or a foot.

The world record weight was 58 pounds.

A channel catfish has mild venom in their pectoral and dorsal fins.

The remedy for getting stung by the fins is rubbing the fish’s belly on the wound.

A channel catfish doesn’t have scales, but instead it has tough skin.

The scientific name for a channel catfish is Ictalurus Punctatus.

Scientists say that the channel catfish have lived in North America for over 3000 years.

Fisherman’s Tip:

The worse your bait smells, the more likely it is that the channel catfish will bite it.