What Do Catfish Eat?

Catfish are named for the whisker-like organs called barbels on their face, which they use to detect food in the water. In the United States, there are several species of catfish commonly caught by anglers. They come in a variety of sizes and colors and live in rivers, ponds and lakes throughout the nation. Catfish eat many things, which you are about to learn.

Considerations

Catfish have a diet that includes other fish, aquatic bugs, crayfish, mollusks, fish eggs, aquatic plants, minnows, snails, decaying vegetation, carrion, worms and leeches. The majority of catfish do most of their feeding at night, staying close to the bottom and using their "whiskers" to feel for food. Their sense of smell is excellent and aids them in finding a meal.

Considerations

The blue catfish is one of the largest species in the United States, with some specimens weighing over 100 pounds. Channel catfish can approach 60 pounds, while the white catfish averages 3 pounds, with the world record at 19. Bullhead are smaller catfish species and rarely exceed 2 pounds. Flathead catfish have reached a recorded high of 91 pounds. The larger catfish as they grow will have a diet mainly of vegetation, smaller fish, and insects but when they become adults they switch into a more predatory mode and consume more fish. The flathead catfish especially goes after fish as its main food source, even eating bass and other catfish.

Geography

Blue catfish prefer large rivers and their tributaries with warm waters. Channel cats can be found in rivers and streams but also frequent reservoirs and lakes. The white catfish resides in slower backwaters and ponds. Bullhead can tolerate dirtier water than the larger catfish and live in farm ponds, reservoirs, slow-moving streams and shallow lakes. They can live where the bottom is sandy or muddy. The flathead catfish is a solitary fish and lives in big rivers and streams. The larger the river in general, the bigger the catfsih can grow as they have a more abundant food supply. Catfish species in the Mississippi River, for example, are among the largest in the world as they have so much available food to enhance their size.

Expert Insight

To catch catfish you can use many baits. Nightcrawlers will catch bullhead as will doughballs, worms and chicken gizzards. The larger catfish species will go for baits such as chicken livers and innards, minnows and stinkbaits. They are fished for on the bottom. Bullhead can be caught by employing the use of a bobber to suspend a bait just off the bottom.

Misconceptions

Catfish are the focal point of a silly urban legend that states that they can sting you with their whiskers. This is totally false but the catfish does possess another danger that is potentially worse than stinging barbels. They have a sharp spine on their pectoral and dorsal fins that many a fishermen has learned about the hard way. These spines can easily puncture the skin when the catfish is being handled after being caught, and some catfish have the ability to secrete a toxin that makes being stuck even more painful.

Resources

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