Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, are North America's most numerous catfish species. They are also the most fished types of catfish, with approximately 8 million anglers in the USA targeting them per year. A member of the Ictalurus genus of American catfishes, channel catfish have a top-end size of approximately 40-50 pounds (18-23 kg). The world record channel catfish weighed 58 pounds and was caught in 1964 in the Lake Marion, South Carolina. Realistically, a channel catfish over 20 pounds (9 kg) is a spectacular specimen, and most catfish anglers view a 10 pound (4.5 kg) fish as a very admirable catch. Furthermore the average size channel catfish an angler could expect to find in most waterways would be between 2 and 4 pounds. Channel catfish flesh is prized by many anglers and the popularity of channel catfish for food has allowed the rapid growth of aquaculture of this species throughout the United States. By Duane Rivers/USFWS File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families Akysidae Amblycipitidae Amphiliidae Ariidae Aspredinidae Astroblepidae Auchenipteridae Bagridae Callichthyidae Cetopsidae Chacidae Clariidae Claroteidae Cranoglanididae Diplomystidae Doradidae Hypophthalmidae Ictaluridae Loricariidae Malapteruridae Mochokidae Nematogenyidae Pangasiidae Parakysidae Pimelodidae Plotosidae Schilbeidae Scoloplacidae Siluridae Sisoridae Trichomycteridae Catfish (order Siluriformes) are a diverse group of fish. ... The Ictaluridae, sometimes called Ictalurids are catfish native to North America. ... Type species Silurus cerulescens Rafinesque, 1820 Species I. australis  â€  I. furcatus  â€  I. lupus I. mexicanus I. pricei I. punctatus  â€   â€  Synonyms Elliops Rafinesque, 1820 Synechoglanis Gill, 1859 Ichthaelurus Cope, 1868 Villarius Rutter, 1896 Haustor Jordan & Evermann, 1896 Istlarius Jordan & Snyder, 1899 Ichthyaelurus Meek, 1904 Ictalurus is a genus of catfishes (order... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... C. S. Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (October 22, 1783-September 18, 1840) was a nineteenth-century polymath who led a chaotic life. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... This article is about the siluriform catfishes; for the Atlantic catfish, see Seawolf (fish); for other uses, see Catfish (disambiguation). ... Categories: Stub ... Type species Silurus cerulescens Rafinesque, 1820 Species I. australis  â€  I. furcatus  â€  I. lupus I. mexicanus I. pricei I. punctatus  â€   â€  Synonyms Elliops Rafinesque, 1820 Synechoglanis Gill, 1859 Ichthaelurus Cope, 1868 Villarius Rutter, 1896 Haustor Jordan & Evermann, 1896 Istlarius Jordan & Snyder, 1899 Ichthyaelurus Meek, 1904 Ictalurus is a genus of catfishes (order... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... Lake Marion may refer to either of two lakes in the United States: Lake Marion (Minnesota), a lake in McLeod County, Minnesota. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N  - Longitude... Workers harvest catfish from the Delta Pride Catfish farms in Mississippi General Agribusiness · Agriculture Agricultural science · Agronomy Animal husbandry Challenges of industrial farming Extensive farming Factory farming · Free range Green Revolution History of agriculture Industrial agriculture Industrial agriculture (animals) Industrial agriculture (crops) Intensive farming · Organic farming Permaculture Sustainable agriculture Zero...

Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

Channel catfish are well distributed throughout the United States and thrive in small rivers, large rivers, reservoirs, natural lakes, and ponds. Channel catfish are omnivores who can be caught on a variety of natural and prepared baits including crickets, nightcrawlers, minnows, shad, chicken livers, frogs, bullheads, sunfish, and suckers. Catfish have even been known to take Ivory Soap as bait ^[1]. Channel catfish possess very keen senses of smell and taste. At the pits of their nostrils (nares) are very sensitive odor sensing organs with a very high concentration of olfactory receptors. In channel catfish these organs are sensitive enough to detect several amino acids at about 1 part per 100 million in water. In addition channel catfish have taste buds distributed over the surface of their entire body. These taste buds are especially concentrated on the channel catfish's 4 pairs of barbels (whiskers) surrounding the mouth—about 25 buds per square millimeter. This combination of exceptional senses of taste and smell allows the channel catfish to find food in dark, stained, or muddy water with relative ease. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (3072 × 2048 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (3072 × 2048 pixel, file size: 1. ... The Ashokan Reservoir, located in Ulster County, New York, USA. It is one of 19 that supplies New York City with drinking water. ... Pigs are omnivores. ... Subfamilies See Taxonomy section Crickets, family Gryllidae (also known as true crickets), are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets (order Orthoptera). ... Binomial name Lumbricus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758 Lumbricus terrestris (L.) is a large reddish worm native to Europe, but now also widely distributed elsewhere around the world (along with several other lumbricids), due to human introductions. ... The word minnow can mean, in decreasing order of specificity: The Eurasian minnow, Phoxinus phoxinus (Linnaeus, 1758) Any, particularly small, fish of the family Cyprinidae Fish of the family Galaxiidae, in particular those of genus galaxiid occurring in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Species See text. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Distribution of frogs (in black) Suborders Archaeobatrachia Mesobatrachia Neobatrachia - List of Anuran families The frogness babe is an amphibian in the order Anura (meaning tail-less from Greek an-, without + oura, tail), formerly referred to as Salientia (Latin saltare, to jump). ... Binomial name Cottus gobio Linnaeus, 1758 The Bullhead or Millers Thumb (Cottus gobio) is a fish of the sculpin family (Cottidae). ... Several kinds of things are named sunfish (or sun-fish): A class of sailboat Various fish: Marine fish: The Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) The Oblong Sunfish (Ranzania laevis) Opah (family Lampridae; two species) The moonfishes of genus Selene (order Perciformes) The African pompano (Alectis ciliaris) (order Perciformes) The American Gamer... Genera See text Catostomidae is the sucker fish family of the Cypriniformes order. ... Ivory, a white and mildly fragranced bar soap, is a product of the Procter & Gamble Company. ... A nostril is one of the two channels of the nose, from the point where they bifurcate to the external opening. ... Olfactory receptors are a type of G protein-coupled receptor in olfactory receptor neurons. ... Phenylalanine is one of the standard amino acids. ... This koi carp has two pairs of barbels, the second pair being quite small. ...

Channel catfish up close.

This combined with the fact that channel catfish will readily scavenge for food explains why cutbaits (fresh cut pieces of fish—usually minnows, shad, herring, sunfish, suckers, etc.) are particularly effective for catching this species of catfish. In addition prepared baits such as dipbaits, punchbaits, bloodbaits, and other "stinkbaits" can be effective in many situations. These baits usually are made from some combination of ground fish, chicken, beef, cheese, sour grains, and many other "secret" ingredients. When removing the hook from a catfish, be careful of the large spine on the pectoral fin. Catfish trapping is regulated in some states. Catfish traps include "slat traps," long wooden traps with an angled entrance, and wire hoop traps. Typical bait for these traps include rotten cheese and dog food. Catches of as many as 100+ fish a day are common in catfish traps. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 149 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) What: Channel Catfish Source: http://www. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 149 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) What: Channel Catfish Source: http://www. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Cheese is a solid food made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep, and other mammals. ... For the computer jargon, see eating ones own dog food. ...

Catfish trapping, however, has recently come under media scrutiny due to the recovery process. The inherent nature of a trap means that the fish can be confined to small areas for, at times, up to twenty-four hours before traps are checked. The channel catfish requires a full range of motion in order to perform aerobic respiration, but since this is not possible in many traps the catfish suffocate. Animal rights activists believe that federal regulations for larger trap sizes should be put in place. This article or section should be merged with aerobic metabolism. ... Suffocation redirects here, for the band, see Suffocation (band). ... For the album by Moby, see Animal Rights (album). ... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. ...

In Aquaria

Channel catfish are commonly available in the aquarium trade as 3 to 4 inch youngsters. They will readilly consume many other fish species and grow large in tanks, often resulting in either their illegal release or even being eaten by their owners after they reach a large size. They make good scavengers in large tanks with fish such as Plecostimus, Oscars, chichlids, silver dollars, large Goldfish, and other large, varieties.hi

References

• Salmon, M. H. III (1997). The Catfish As A Metaphor. Silver City, New Mexico: High-Lonesome Books. ISBN 0-944383-43-2. 

Notes

1. ^ www.gameandfishmag.com

Wikispecies has information related to:

Ictalurus punctatus