Channel Catfish

About Channel Catfish

Channel Catfish are easy to spot thanks to their bluish-olive body dotted with dark spots, a deeply forked tail, and the long whisker-like barbels around their mouth that help them locate food in murky water. They’re not conventionally pretty, but plenty of Utah anglers would sooner hook into a Channel Cat than almost anything else in the state, there’s a real, dedicated following for this fish.

Interesting Facts

• Channel Catfish do most of their feeding at night, which is exactly why serious Catfish anglers tend to fish the evening into after-dark hours rather than the middle of the day.
• They’re extremely tough fish — a stomach-content study of Utah Lake Catfish found their diet was surprisingly varied, including minnows, but nearly half of what they’d eaten was simply organic detritus. These fish aren’t picky.
• In Utah Lake, Channel Catfish grow roughly 3 inches a year through about age 5, slow and steady rather than explosive, which is part of why a truly large one takes real time to grow.
• The state record Channel Catfish weighed 32 pounds, 8 ounces, caught at Utah Lake by LeRoy Mortensen in 1978, still the standing record decades later.

Stocking History

Channel Catfish aren’t native to Utah, they’re originally a Mississippi River basin species. They were first introduced into some of Utah’s larger rivers as early as 1888, with a dedicated introduction into Utah Lake specifically following in the summer of 1911. Many additional stockings followed over the next decades as the species proved it could thrive in Utah’s warmer, lowland waters.

Channel Catfish didn’t always have it easy here. In the early 1960s, Utah Lake’s Catfish population took a real hit following the introduction of White Bass and Walleye.

Where to Find Them

Channel Catfish are now well established in warm, lowland waters across the state, including:

• Utah Lake
• Willard Bay Reservoir
• Sand Hollow Reservoir
• The Green and Colorado Rivers
• Many other lowland reservoirs statewide

How to Fish

Technique

Cut bait, stink bait, raw shrimp, chicken liver, or nightcrawlers fished on bottom near structure are the classic, reliable approach. Catfish aren’t picky eaters, they’ll investigate almost anything that smells right but they’ll also take activly fished lures in clearer water. 

When to Fish

Evening into nighttime is genuinely the best window, since that’s when Catfish do most of their feeding. On windy days, they also tend to hold in calmer water near visible structure rather than exposed open water.

Fishing Regulations

The general statewide limit on Channel Catfish is 8 fish, though always check the current Utah Fishing Guidebook for the specific water you’re headed to, since limits can vary.

Cook

Good eating, with few bones to deal with, though at Utah Lake specifically, check current fish consumption advisories before keeping any for the table, given water quality concerns there.