Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

How they feed

• Water60–85°F, best near 75°
• TideEither, as long as it moves
• MoonEither
• DepthUsually 5–30 ft

Scored against their own temperature range and tide preference first, then wind, weather and warnings. Solunar periods only break ties. How the score works

Season by state

• MarylandApr–Nov
• TexasYear-round
• VirginiaApr–Nov
• PennsylvaniaApr–Oct
• South CarolinaFeb–Dec
• AlabamaMar–Nov
• CaliforniaFeb–Dec
• ArizonaYear-round
• ColoradoApr–Oct
• West VirginiaApr–Nov
• DelawareApr–Nov
• FloridaYear-round
• GeorgiaFeb–Dec
• IllinoisApr–Nov
• North CarolinaMar–Nov
• NebraskaApr–Oct
• OklahomaMar–Nov
• TennesseeMar–Nov
• KansasApr–Nov
• KentuckyMar–Nov
• MissouriApr–Nov
• South DakotaMay–Oct
• ArkansasMar–Nov
• IowaApr–Oct
• IndianaApr–Nov
• LouisianaYear-round
• MontanaMay–Oct
• New MexicoMar–Dec
• NevadaYear-round
• OhioMay–Nov
• UtahApr–Nov

The Maryland, Delaware and Virginia months are the Chesapeake-region season. Everywhere else it is carried over by water temperature: a month counts at a spot when its usual water is in the range that marks the mid-Atlantic season (51°F and warmer), from the spot’s own gauge where it has one and an estimate from air temperature where it doesn’t. Each state lists the months that hold at half or more of its spots. Where the water temperatures come from.

Keep or release

• Alabamano daily limitAlabama: no limit on catfish under 34"; only 1 catfish over 34" a day. The 34" rule does not apply in the Perdido, Conecuh, Blackwater, Yellow, Choctawhatchee, Chipola and Chattahoochee basins.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Arizona10 a dayArizona statewide: 10 catfish a day, channel and flathead combined, no size limit. Some community and small waters are lower or unlimited; at Saguaro, Apache and Canyon lakes the limit is 5 when taken by bow and arrow.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Arkansas10 a dayArkansas: 10 catfish a day (channel, blue and flathead combined), no limit on bullheads. Some small lakes and community ponds are 3 or 5 a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Californiano daily limitNo catfish limit in most of California. The Southern and Colorado River districts are 10 a day, and some listed county and park lakes are 5.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Colorado non-tidal10 a dayColorado statewide: 10 channel, flathead and blue catfish a day combined, no minimum.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Delaware tidalno daily limitNot a gamefish in Delaware and not in the non-tidal size/creel table — the default rule applies: no closed season, no size limit, no possession limit.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Delaware tidalno daily limitDelaware tidal waters: catfish of any species have no size limit and no daily limit.Tidal delaware waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Floridano daily limitChannel catfish are not on the Florida freshwater game-fish bag list, so there is no statewide bag or size limit.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Georgiano daily limitGeorgia sets no daily or length limit on channel or flathead catfish.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Illinoisno daily limitIllinois: no statewide daily or size limit on blue, channel or flathead catfish; some waters set their own.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Indiana10 a dayIndiana lakes: 10 catfish a day combined, no minimum, only 1 channel catfish 28" or longer. Rivers and streams have no bag limit and a 13" minimum.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Iowa non-tidal8 a dayIowa inland lakes: 8 catfish a day combined (channel, blue and flathead). Streams and the big reservoirs allow 15; the Mississippi River has no limit.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Kansas non-tidal10 a dayKansas (K.A.R. 115-25-14): 10 channel catfish a day, no statewide minimum.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Kentuckyno daily limitKentucky: no limit on channel catfish under 28"; only 1 a day 28" or longer.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Louisiana non-tidal11" minimum · 100 a dayLouisiana statewide: channel catfish 11" minimum (blue 12", flathead 14"), 100 catfish a day combined. Toledo Bend, Caddo Lake and the Sabine have no minimum on blue and channel catfish and allow 50 a day, no more than 5 over 30".Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Maryland non-tidal5 a dayMaryland nontidal waters: no minimum size, 5 a day (10 in possession), open all year.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Maryland tidalno daily limitTidal waters: no minimum size and no daily creel limit; open year-round.Tidal bay waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Missouri10 a dayMissouri: 10 channel catfish a day, no length limit. On Table Rock, Bull Shoals and Norfork the 10 is shared with blue and flathead catfish; the Mississippi River allows 20 channel and blue combined.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Montana Eastern District10 a dayEastern District: 10 channel catfish a day, 20 in possession.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Nebraska non-tidal5 a dayNebraska standing water (reservoirs, lakes, ponds and pits): 5 channel catfish a day, 20 in possession, no minimum, only one 30" or longer. Rivers, streams and canals allow 10 a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 18, 2026 · source · 20 days since checked
• Nevada non-tidal15 a dayNevada general limits: catfish count in the 15 warmwater game fish a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• New Mexico non-tidal15 a dayNew Mexico: 15 catfish a day, all species except bullheads, 30 in possession. Special Summer Catfish Waters allow 2; the Animas and San Juan in San Juan County have no limit.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• North Carolinano daily limitNorth Carolina: no creel or length limit for channel catfish in most inland waters. Designated community fishing ponds allow 7 channel catfish a day, and the Pee Dee below Blewett Falls Dam allows 5 catfish a day combined.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• North Dakota non-tidal20 a dayNorth Dakota (2026–28 proclamation): 20 channel catfish a day west of ND Highway 1 (40 in possession); east of Highway 1 the limit is 5, only 1 over 24".Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Ohiono daily limitOhio statewide rule, Lake Erie included: no limit on channel catfish under 28"; 1 a day 28" or longer.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Oklahoma15 a dayOklahoma: 15 channel and blue catfish a day combined, only 1 blue catfish over 30".Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Pennsylvania50 a dayPennsylvania inland: no minimum size; 50/day in the combined panfish/other-gamefish group (shared with perch, crappie, suckers, etc.). Panfish-Enhancement waters may differ.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Potomac River Fisheries Commissionno daily limitPRFC's 2026 recreational order (#2026-03) sets limits only for bullhead catfish (6" minimum, no limit) and blue catfish (no limits); it sets no recreational size or catch limit for channel catfish on the tidal Potomac main stem.Tidal potomac waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• South Carolinano daily limitSouth Carolina sets no daily or length limit for channel catfish; the state nongame limits cover only blue catfish and American eel.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• South Dakota non-tidal10 a daySouth Dakota: 10 catfish a day combined, only 1 flathead 30" or longer; 20 in possession.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Tennesseeno daily limitTennessee: no limit on catfish 34" and under; only 1 catfish over 34" may be kept a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Texas25 a dayNo minimum length, 25/day channel and blue catfish in any combination, only 10 of them 20" or longer. Texoma is 15 a day; Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend 50 a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Utah non-tidal8 a dayUtah statewide: 8 channel catfish a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• Virginia non-tidal (VDWR)20 a dayVirginia statewide: channel, white and flathead catfish 20 a day, no length limit. No daily limit in rivers below the fall line.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked
• West Virginia30 a dayWest Virginia: 30 channel catfish a day on rivers, streams, Corps of Engineers lakes, Cheat, Mt. Storm and Stonecoal; 4 a day in state-managed impoundments.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source · 15 days since checked

Rules change, and they differ by state and often by water. Each spot page shows the limits for its own water. Channel catfish are fished at spots in 31 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia.