Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Whiskered Channel Catfish

By: Tom Berg

The channel catfish is the most common catfish species in the United States. It inhabits lakes, rivers, streams and ponds. It is easy to identify because it has a fairly large head and has a total of eight whiskers (or barbels) located around its mouth. These whiskers are covered with taste buds, which help the catfish find food in the dark and in muddy water.

People can distinguish a channel catfish (also called a channel cat) from other catfish species by their deeply forked tail. Only blue catfish also have a deeply forked tail, and white catfish have a moderately forked tail. Most of the other catfish and bullheads have a flat or rounded tail.

Channel cats also have many small black or brown spots on their golden-colored sides, especially when they are younger and smaller. These spots often disappear in larger individuals, and really big channel catfish can be a solid gray color or even completely black. The really large cats can weigh as much as 20 or 30 pounds, too!

Channel catfish do not have scales on their sides like other fish. Instead, they have a smooth, slippery skin which is also covered with taste buds. No wonder they can find food in the dark! They have three very sharp spines which often injure fishermen and other people who handle them. One spine is located on top of their back (dorsal spine) and the other two (pectoral spines) are located one on each side behind the gill plate.

There is a persistent myth that catfish whiskers can inflict a painful sting.  This is not true at all. Catfish whiskers are completely harmless. The three spines mentioned earlier, however, can definitely inflict a painful wound if they puncture your skin. The spines are extremely sharp and can inject a mild venom when they break the skin. The venom is not dangerous, but it is painful. Surprisingly, you can rub the wound on the belly of the catfish and the venom will be neutralized and the pain will disappear!

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