Channel Catfish

Catfish are a popular fish for anglers, and a popular eating fish. They are the official fish of four states: Missouri, Iowa, Tennessee, and Kansas. Their color is grey or greyish brown. They hid for protection in hollows, debris, and crevices to protect themselves from rapid currents. The types of waters they live in are ponds, lakes and rivers. They grow as large as 40-50 pounds. The largest ever caught was 58 pounds. A ten pound fish would make a nice meal for a family. A lot of people fry catfish.

They can be caught with a variety of bait as they are omnivores, meaning that they eat more than one type of food. This can include sunfish, frogs, crickets, minnows, bullheads, suckers, and night crawlers. Fishermen need to be careful when removing catfish from hooks as the catfish have sharp spines. They can also be caught with traps; as many as 100 a day can be caught this way. These traps include juglines, slat traps, bank lines, and trot lines.
Catfish females lay eggs which are protected by the males. He guards them for six to ten days while they hatch. during this time, he increases oxygen around the eggs by fanning them with his tail. The eggs are laid by the female in hollow logs, undercut banks, or rock ledges. After the catfish hatch, they eat larvae and snails.

Catfish rely on sensitive taste buds they have all over their body. These include the whiskers around their mouths called feelers or barbels. This allows the catfish to taste amino acids given off by prey. Because catfish live in dark, muddy waters, it is necessary to have this sensing device for their food. This ability has given them the nickname "swimming tongue". Catfish also use chemicals to sense or communicate with each other, as well as using sounds.