Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus
Family Bullhead Catfishes (Ictaluridae)
The Channel Catfish does not venture far north, and we found no documented Channel Catfish in the U.P., all farther South in Wisconsin and Michigan.
The Channel Catfish, a native species in Michigan’s waters, deserves mention for its impressive size. These catfish can grow up to 40 inches long and weigh over 40 pounds.
The Channel catfish can be found in all Great Lakes apart from Lake Superior. Lake Michigan is home to two different catfish species including channel catfish, flathead catfish.
Michigan has many species of the catfish family are the bullheads (black, brown, and yellow), channel catfish, flathead catfish.
Channel cats are hard to find in our cold waters, most are found in the Lower Peninsula, and Southern Wisconsin with only bullheads and channel catfish found in the U.P
Wisconsin and Michigan have two types of Catfish. The Channel Catfish and the Flathead Catfish.
Common names Channel catfish – channel cat. snotted catfish, snotted cat. lake catfish. Great Lakes catfish: northern catfish. fiddler.
Flathead catfish – flathead, Mississippi bullhead, Mississippi cat, shovelhead cat, shovelnose cat, yellow cat, mud cat, Hoosier, goujon.
Catfish prefer to rest during the day and prowl at night. The bite peaks 2 hours before sunset to early sunset, and another peak early sunrise.
The channel catfish and the flathead catfish are Wisconsin’s largest members of the bullhead catfish family (Ictaluridae), which also includes the bullheads.
Health : Local waters have PCBs, dioxin, mercury, PFOS, and other chemicals that can be found in fish and stay in our environment for a very long time.
Be aware of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services – The Eat Safe Fish Guide (ESF Guide)
Wisconsin has the a health guide for eating fish in Wisconsin – Choose Wisely Contaminate Advisories for Wisconsin
