Celebrate
National Catfish Day (June 25) by learning more about Iowa’s most abundant and
widely distributed sport fish.
Catfish are
opportunistic bottom feeders that are active at night. They eat all types of
living or dead animal and plant material and are most often attracted to
odoriferous or "smelly" morsels of food. They depend heavily on their
sense of smell and taste to locate food.
Their
characteristic barbels are highly sensitive to touch and contain taste buds as
well. Catfish have taste receptors all over their bodies. It has been estimated
that an adult bullhead has perhaps 100,000 nerve sensory sites on its body.
Iowa Catfish
channel catfish: abundant in most Iowa rivers and have been stocked in nearly all lakes and reservoirs; spawn in the late spring and summer in secluded, often enclosed, places along the bank or bottom – the male guards the eggs until they hatch; eat at all times, but are most aggressive night; an important part of the commercial fishery catch in the Mississippi River
channel catfish: abundant in most Iowa rivers and have been stocked in nearly all lakes and reservoirs; spawn in the late spring and summer in secluded, often enclosed, places along the bank or bottom – the male guards the eggs until they hatch; eat at all times, but are most aggressive night; an important part of the commercial fishery catch in the Mississippi River
flathead
catfish: one of the largest catfish- commonly reach twenty pounds; a
"big-water" fish found mainly in the border rivers and large interior
rivers; usually in deep pools with mud bottoms; spawn in secluded hides during
June and July – build nests and guard the eggs and young; feed mostly at night;
an important part of the commercial fishery catch in the Mississippi River
blue
catfish: primarily a “big river” fish; spawn in June and early July –
construct nests similar to those of channel catfish; omnivorous and eat
everything that is available; adults weighing up to 20 or 25 pounds are common
black
bullhead: most common of the three bullhead species; abundant in most
natural lakes and some man-made lakes; spawns in May or early June usually in
weedy or muddy shallow areas; strictly omnivorous – eating nearly every
conceivable thing in the water
yellow
bullhead: found in clear streams, rivers, overflow pools, lakes and
reservoirs; prefers streams with permanent flow, but avoids strong currents;
spawns in May and early June in water from 1 1/2 to 4 feet in depth - nests are
constructed by the male and the female deposits 2,000 to 7,000 eggs
brown
bullhead: found in swamps, ponds, inland pools, lakes, reservoirs,
impoundments, and the backwaters and tributaries of larger rivers; prefers
clear, cool, well-vegetated waters with bottoms of sand, gravel or dark muck;
spawns early in the spring, usually late April or May - male fish fan out a
saucer-shaped nest in the mud or nests in natural cavities where the female
deposits eggs; feed eagerly on nearly anything available, either living or dead
- travel in schools and feed on or near the bottom; seem to be hungry at all
times of the day and night
tadpole
madtom: found in large interior rivers and the Mississippi River; females
usually mate several times during the June through July breeding period; most active
at night – eats insects and occasionally algae and other aquatic plants; have a
poison gland at the base of the pectoral fin that secretes a mild but painful
venom when danger is threatened
slender
madtom: found in major tributary streams of the Mississippi River; live
entirely in riffle areas of small or medium size streams
stone
cat: largest of the madtoms; found in swift-flowing streams; spawns in the
spring in areas of darkness, such as under rocks or in bank hides - builds a
nest and guards the eggs and young; prefer stream riffle habitats, but are also
found under rocks or weedy shorelines of lakes and ponds
freckled
madtom: an endangered species -
added to Iowa’s species list in 1984; prefers medium-sized creeks to large
rivers of low to moderate gradient with clear to moderate turbidity and
silty-gravel or sand-gravel substrates; often found in riffles and pools where
organic debris such as leaves or twigs tend to accumulate
