In another lifetime back in my channel catfish farming days, this is the month that my year always got busy before it got really crazy. With a few million pounds of catfish raised and harvested under my belt, this is a subject I feel fairly comfortable with. If you ever had catfish in a Shoney’s restaurant or in the Louisiana State Women’s Prison in Saint Gabriel, Louisiana then you may have sampled some of my fare. Anyway, I’m getting on a tangent, let’s talk about channel catfish in our area and what makes them tick.

There is a fair amount of fishing effort for catfish on Sam Rayburn. Through the department’s creel surveys we found that from June 2004 till June 2005 that rod and reel catfish anglers made up 6.5% of all the fishing effort on the lake. These anglers devoted an estimated 56,000 hours of fishing time for catfish. These same anglers were also estimated to have harvested 80,200 channel catfish while releasing an additional 157,500 fish on Sam Rayburn from June 2004 till June 2005. The average catfish fisherman was found to catch about three fish per hour, while others undoubtedly caught more given the harvest and release estimates. Passive gear fishermen (trot liners) likely harvested as many if not more channel catfish than the rod and reel fishermen, unfortunately the department does not have good data to report trot line harvest. 

Channel catfish were originally native to Mexico and states bordering the Gulf of Mexico as well as states within the Mississippi Valley. Over the past century they have been introduced throughout the U.S. as well as many other countries, and now are widely distributed.

Channel catfish grow best at water temperatures around 85o F, with feeding activity and growth coming nearly to a halt when water temperature approaches 50o F. Channel catfish have been reported to live up to 40 years and reach weights of over 55 lbs. with the Texas record at 36.5 lbs. Sam Rayburn’s channel catfish record is much less with a 24.5” fish weighing in at 6.69 lbs. 

It is fairly easy to distinguish the sex of a channel catfish. Males usually have a broad muscular head that is wider than the body. A sexually mature male also has dark mottled gray splotches on the underside of the jaw and the abdomen. Female channel catfish have two vents, one to release urine and the other connected to the oviduct to release eggs.

Channel catfish generally reach sexual maturity at 3 years old, however some fish may reach sexual maturity at 2 years old and some may take up to 5 years. Catfish are cavity spawners, meaning they spawn in semi-enclosed areas such as holes, undercut banks, hollow logs, etc. Spawning takes place when the water temperature is between 75-85o F. At temperatures above 85o F eggs become less viable and fungus often kills the eggs. The male will prepare the spawning site, fertilize the eggs laid by the female, and stay with the eggs to fan them to provide water circulation and guard them until hatch.
Male channel catfish can spawn up to four times in a single spawning season while females will generally spawn only once. The number of eggs a female can lay is dependent on her size. A female channel catfish under four pounds can lay up to 4,000 eggs per pound of body weight, while fish over four pounds will lay less. A good rule of thumb is to figure about 3,800 eggs per pound of female.

Fertilized channel catfish eggs are adhesive and form a gelatinous mass that has the consistency of pizza dough. They are initially yellow and will turn brownish yellow as they age and get closer to hatch. Channel catfish eggs are about 3/16” in diameter, slightly larger than a BB. Eggs will hatch within 5-10 days after being fertilized depending on the water temperature. Once hatched the fry will feed off of a yolk sac that is attached to their abdomen. In about a week to a week and half the yolk sac will be depleted and the fry will begin to seek feed. Young catfish fry will eat up to 5% of their body weight per day. Young catfish fry are identical to adults, unlike other fish species that undergo several transformations before having an adult appearance.

The department has determined that channel catfish reach legal size (12 inches) on Sam Rayburn at three years old. However, the department’s methodology for aging catfish has changed and our age at legal size estimates may change due to the methodology or to changing growth rates within the reservoir. In the past the department used the pectoral spines. Now we use otoliths (ear bones) to age them as we do other species (black basses, crappie, etc.). Studies have indicated that otoliths provide a better age estimation than spines.

As always, if you should have any questions concerning this article or have any other fishery questions please don’t hesitate to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call me at 409-384-9572. Good Luck and Good Fishing!

Dan Ashe is a fisheries biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. He has worked out of the Jasper, Texas field office since 2005 helping to manage east Texas reservoirs including Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend. Dan has also worked as fisheries biologist in Puerto Rico, California, and Alaska but now calls Texas home.