Catfish comprise a large group of predominately freshwater fish that are distributed around the world. Some accounts peg the total number of catfish species worldwide at more than 2,200. South America is especially rich in quantity and species of catfish, and has some of the largest freshwater specimens. Many of the world’s significant river systems are home to at least one species of catfish, and in most cases these fish rank among the largest fish of the river system. The same applies to large lakes, especially in reservoirs that are impoundments of large rivers. Many catfish are important for commercial and recreational purposes.

Angling for catfish is one of the most popular freshwater fishing activities, second only to bass fishing in some surveys, especially in the midsection of the United States. Despite high levels of participation, fishing for catfish is somewhat ma-ligned, largely by omission, in most of the major outdoor media. Catfish, like some other species, are viewed with condescension in deference to other species with (subjectively) higher pedigrees and greater sporting virtues. In some U.S. locations, catfish are designated as gamefish by state fisheries agencies. They may be lumped in the negative-sounding category of “rough fish” (see) and treated to only incidental management. Catfish are the subject of (sometimes intense) commercial pursuit, and most of them are certainly short on color and beauty.

It is true that catfish lack some of the sporting attributes appreciated in other species. They almost never jump out of the water when hooked. Their fight is more bulldogging and bottom digging than sudden streaking; when hooked, a 20-pound river catfish does not fire 100 yards downriver the way a 20-pound salmon or steelhead would (although a 60- to 100-pounder might). They live in deep holes, often in turbid water, and their feeding habits are less than regal. Most people tend to fish for them in a laid-back, forked-stick, bait-on-bottom, wait-till-something happens manner. When you put all this together, it adds up to a fish that is relatively abundant but without a great deal of glamour and sex appeal.

Some of the perceived deficiencies of catfish might also be applied, incidentally, to other popular freshwater fish, especially panfish and walleye. Critics point out that stream trout and largemouth bass, most of which are rather small on average, are overhyped as gamefish and that the catfish deserves greater appreciation and better press than it gets. Indeed, looking at the abilities and habits of catfish, one finds an impressive fish that has adapted especially well to its niche in the environment, and one that is probably worthy of greater public attention. It is unlikely to get more respect, however, until it starts rising to the surface to take dry flies and/or aggressively attacks spinnerbaits and then cartwheels out of the water. Don’t hold your breath. But don’t ignore these fish simply because they lack the characteristics of other species.

Indeed, more Americans angle for catfish than they do for trout. There is arguably more national effort expended on catfish in a single week than in an entire year of Atlantic salmon fishing or bonefishing. This is partly because catfish are so abundant; the vast majority of anglers have access to some species of catfish. This attention is partly due to their importance as a food source; most species of catfish rank very highly as table fare, and people who catch catfish overwhelmingly tend to keep them, a practice that within reason is not harmful to most populations of catfish and is encouraged by fisheries managers. Another important reason for their popularity is that they are a fairly willing fish that are generally not too difficult to catch in smaller sizes; they don’t require much sophistication in technique, tackle, or presentation methods. Like other species, most of the catfish caught are on the smaller side, certainly under 2 pounds, but on the right tackle they have spunk, and the bigger specimens can be a challenge to land, even if they don’t provide the drama of some other species. Although their fighting virtues are short on style, the larger specimens are long on strength and rod-bending drama, not unlike many of the bottom-dwelling bruisers of saltwater.

As with other types of fishing, you can make angling for catfish as intricate as you like. But anyone can enjoy this activity, without special casting skills or highly sophisticated methods, and generally from almost any type of craft as well as from shore, so they clearly deserve a high popularity quotient.

Species

The majority of catfish are scaleless, but some are armored with heavy scales. They vary in size from tiny versions that are popular for aquarium use, the smallest of which grow no larger than 1/2 inch, to huge specimens, the largest of which has been recorded at more than 600 pounds. Most catfish prefer the sluggish localities of lakes and rivers; some do best in fairly swift waters. Tenacious fish, they can stay alive out of water for a considerable time, especially if kept moist. They are characterized by having a single dorsal fin and an adipose fin; strong, sharply pointed spines in dorsal and pectoral fins; and whiskerlike sensory barbels on the upper and lower jaws. The head and mouth are generally broad, and the eyes small.

North American freshwater catfish

Blue Catfish

White Catfish

Flathead Catfish

Members of the family Ictaluridae, North American freshwater catfish are distributed from Canada to Guatemala and contain about 50 species. These bottom-loving fish are important commercially; and many millions are harvested annually, some from natural environments and some from aquaculture or fish-farming operations.

Thousands of anglers pursue these fish, employing a wide variety of methods to catch them. All species obtained from fairly clear waters are delicious on the table. Many fish farms specialize in raising and marketing catfish. All members of this group have scaleless skins and a stiff, sharp spine at the leading edge of the dorsal fin and pectoral fins. Just in front of the tail, on the dorsal surface, is a fleshy adipose fin. Their eight barbels are sensory structures that help them to locate food.

Nearly all North American catfish live in sluggish streams or in the quiet waters of lakes and ponds. They are bottom feeders, taking both live and dead foods. They are typically active at night—although some are more active during the day than others—and on dark, overcast days or in roiled, murky water. Catfish spawn in spring and early summer, fanning a nest area in the sand or mud. One or both parents stand guard until the eggs hatch and then shepherd the young until they are large enough to fend for themselves.

Perhaps the most abundant and best-known members of the clan of about a dozen species of the genus Ictalurus are the three principal species of bullhead: brown bullhead (I. nebulosus; see: bullhead, brown), black bullhead (I. melas; see: bullhead, black), and yellow bullhead (I. natalis; see: bullhead, yellow).

Bullhead abound in freshwater from coast to coast in North America. In some regions they have been introduced by humans, either accidentally when a bait bucket containing a few baby bullhead was emptied, or intentionally when an angler stocked bullhead in his private pond. Settlers from the East carried bullhead over the Rockies to stock the waters with their familiar favorite. Until then, bullhead were not found west of the Rockies. Nature’s way of moving bullhead into new habitats is more unique. The bullhead travel on the feet of wading birds that unknowingly carry the adhesive eggs with them from place to place. The eggs wash off as the birds wade, and in this way a new population of bullhead becomes established.

These catfish can survive in water that is so low in oxygen that the bullhead must come to the surface from time to time to gulp air. In these emergency conditions, the air bladder acts as an auxiliary lung. In the confinement of a pond in which conditions are initially favorable, bullhead may soon multiply beyond the food capacity. The result is an over-population of stunted, freakish fish—weird-looking creatures with oversize heads and shrunken bodies. Some years ago, biologists in Wisconsin poisoned a 9-acre pond that seemed crowded with bullhead. It contained nearly 250,000. The pond was supporting about 1,500 pounds of fish per acre, but not one bullhead was big enough to grace a skillet.

East of the Rockies, all three species are in abundance. Most common—and the species that has been introduced most widely—is the brown bullhead. In their original distribution, the black bullhead was the most widely distributed. In habits and flavor, the three species are scarcely distinguishable.

Also of commercial and recreational importance in some areas are the channel catfish (I. punctatus; see catfish, channel), blue catfish (I. furcatus; see: catfish, blue), white catfish (Ameiurus catus; see catfish, white), and flathead catfish (Pylodictus olivaris; see catfish, flathead). The largest is the blue catfish, which may tip the scales at more than 150 pounds. The record caught on rod and reel weighed 109 pounds. A 25-pound catch is considered large, however. Slate blue above and white below, this big catfish ranges throughout the large streams of the Mississippi River system but is most abundant by far in the deep, warm waters of the South. Small blue catfish are most easily confused with channel catfish. Both have forked tails, but the latter is more likely to have dark spots; they can be positively distinguished by **** fin ray count.

The channel catfish’s maximum weight is uncertain, although a 58-pounder has been recorded; the average is less than 5 pounds. A young channel catfish has black spots over its bluish body, and its fins are also margined with black. The black becomes subdued or is absent in older fish. Of all the catfish, the channel cat shows the greatest preference for clear, flowing waters, but it does equally well in lakes and ponds. Because of its strong fight at the end of a rod and line, it rates favorably with anglers. It is stocked regularly in farm ponds to provide fishing fun as well as food and is a principal fish stocked in pay-as-you-fish ponds (white catfish are also popular here). The channel catfish is also the species most commonly used in catfish farming enterprises.

The white catfish lives primarily in streams feeding into the Atlantic, ranging southward from New England to Florida. Until the introduction of the channel catfish, it was the largest catfish inhabiting these waters. It reaches a known maximum size of about 22 pounds, but the average is less than 3 pounds. Growing much larger than the white catfish, the flathead catfish has a broad, flat head, and the lower jaw projects beyond the upper. It is known to reach weights exceeding 100 pounds; the average size caught by anglers weighs less than 5 pounds, although 20-pounders are not especially rare.

The foregoing North American catfish are not finicky about what they eat. They will accept almost anything offered for bait, although some are more finicky than others, and this is not to imply that they will strike anything at any time, only that they have eclectic tastes. Biologists have found strange collections of debris in the stomachs of catfish. But avid catfish anglers are especially likely to use a foul-smelling concoction called a stinkbait (see) for luring catfish. Most catfish, in fact, have taste glands located over much of their body, although these glands are concentrated in their long, sensory whiskers. Among the favorite stinkbaits are soured clams, ripened chicken entrails, coagulated blood, and a variety of cheese and doughball mixtures—all allowed to cure until they acquire a potent odor. A good catfish bait will attract some species from a long distance.

Finally, the North American freshwater catfish family includes the various madtoms (see), about two dozen of which are in the genus Noturus. All are small, most of them less than 5 inches long. Madtoms are recognized by their unique adipose fin. Non-madtom catfish have a fleshy fin protruding from their back just ahead of the caudal fin. The adipose fin of a madtom is continuous with their caudal fin. Madtoms possess stinging venom in their dorsal and pectoral spines. The venom originates from cells of the skin sheath over the pectoral fin. The toxicity of the venom varies but approximates that of a bee sting, causing stab wounds to swell and become extremely painful. Some madtoms inhabit the fast waters of streams, living in the rapids or riffles; others prefer slow-moving streams or the stillwaters of ponds and lakes, much like other members of the catfish family.

The stonecat (N. flavus; see: stonecat), is one of the largest of the madtoms, sometimes attaining a length of 12 inches, although it is usually less than half this size. It is found in the rubble and boulder riffles and runs of creeks and small to large rivers over most of the U.S. and southern Canada, from the St. Lawrence River system southward to Florida, westward to Oklahoma and across the northern tier of states to Wyoming, and north to Manitoba. It is occasionally caught by anglers and is of some importance as forage for game species. The tadpole madtom (N. gyrinus), seldom more than 3 inches long, occurs in much the same range but prefers sluggish waters. The freckled madtom (N. noctumus) is also small and has numerous black specks over its body. It is sometimes found in swift waters but may as frequently inhabit weedy, quiet waters. Some madtoms are fairly common, but most are rarely seen by anglers. A number of madtom species are on lists of protected fish.

South American freshwater catfish

Barred Sorubim

Pintado

Jurupoca

Piraíba

Pirarara

Piraíba

There is enormous diversity of catfish throughout South America, especially in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and they are members of several different families.

The names of these fish are sometimes confused among different languages, including native Indian, Portuguese, and Spanish, as well as English. The following general information concerns a few of the more notable catfish of South America. Most catfish there, especially the larger-growing specimens, are heavily valued for commercial distribution. Recreational fishing for most South American catfish is of some value for food but is a small part of the overall harvest. Until the late 1980s, many of the larger-growing species were substantial in size, but relentless commercial pressures have steadily lowered the average size of these fish, and the upper-end specimens are either nonexistent or far fewer in number.

The largest family of freshwater catfish in South America is Pimelodidae, which range from Mexico southward through South America except for the cold southern regions. These fish are reportedly the most abundant predators of other fish in the river channels and undertake upstream migrations to capitalize on prey that becomes concentrated during spawning runs or low-water periods. When these fish spawn, their young offspring drift or swim downstream to their nursery estuary. They are distinguished from other catfish mainly by their very large adipose fins. All have scaleless skins. The caudal fin is forked, and the medium-size, spined dorsal fin is high and located far forward on the body. The pectoral fins are also spineless. Typically, there are three pairs of long barbels that stretch back halfway or more along the body. Some of the numerous species in the more than 20 genera in the family are favorites with fish hobbyists.

Among the South American catfish encountered by anglers are various shovelnose catfish of the Pseudoplatystoma genus, which are called sorubim or (incorrectly) surubim by anglos or by an assortment of other names.

The tiger sorubim (listed as Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum and Sorubim tigrinum) and the barred sorubim (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum) are among the species, but there is confusion between them. The shovelnose catfish is so named because its flat head is projected into a ducklike snout. The mouth projects down under the snout, conveniently lo-cated for picking up food rooted from the bottom.

The tiger sorubim of Brazil is known as cachara and caparari in that country and in Spanish as tigre zúngaro. The barred sorubim is listed as doncella and rayao in Spanish, and may also be called the tiger shovelnose catfish. The differences between these species are uncertain, although they have a zebralike pattern of vertical stripes, with dark spots on the back, flanks, and fins. They inhabit lagoons, narrow channels, and flooded forests and are more likely to strike lures than other Amazonian catfish. The cachara of Brazil is said to reach weights exceeding 20 kilograms and a length of more than 1 meter.

An apparently related fish, with spots but no stripes, is a shovelnose catfish known as pintado in Brazil (Pseudoplatystoma coruscan).

This fish, which may also be called the spotted sorubim or polka dot catfish, is a strong and tasty fish that is said to reach 80 kilograms in weight and nearly 2 meters in length. It sports a bluish gray color and black spots. It is found in river outlets, lagoon mouths, and channels, under floating plants, and along riverbanks, and is primarily caught at night.

A slightly different fish, reaching just 10 kilograms, is the jurupoca (Hemisorubim platyrhyncos); it has a different mouth shape, with a lower jaw that extends past the upper and turns up.

Two prominent and large catfish are members of the Brachyplatystoma genus. The smaller of these, growing to 40 kilograms and nearly 5 feet in length, is known as dourada in Portuguese (Brachyplatystoma flavicans) and has been an especially important commercial species—one that has been heavily pressured.

Exhibiting a dirty gold color, it is easily distinguished and is also known as the golden catfish, although this terminology, as well as its Portuguese name, has caused it to be confused with the highly popular and sporty dorado (Salminus maxillosus), which is also golden.

A larger cousin, Brachyplatystoma filamentosum, is called piraíba, a Tupi-Guarani Indian word that means “mother of all fish.” Appropriately, the pi-raíba, which attains a reported weight of up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds), is the largest of South American catfish and one of the largest freshwater fish in the world.

This grayish catfish lacks the color of the dou-rada and is reputedly not valued for food in large sizes owing to hosting parasites. In pursuing this fish, some native Brazilians bait a small fish with a hook and tie that to a rope attached to the bow of their canoe. When a large piraíba is hooked, it may drag the canoe for several kilometers. Today a large specimen is one weighing more than 200 pounds.

Another member of this genus, incidentally, is the commercially valuable piramutaba (Brachyplatystoma vaillantii). This light gray species, which reportedly grows only to 20 pounds but is especially valued for its flesh, has been heavily exported from Brazil.

Two other significant South American catfish are the pirarara (Phractocephalus hemeliopterus), a colorful and hard-fighting species, and the deep pool-dwelling jaú (Paulicea lutkeni).

The jaú grows to 100 kilograms and 1.5 meters, and ranges from a soiled yellow to solid black in color. It is a strong species that prefers rocky bottoms and quiet water below falls and rapids. The pirarara’s colors blend yellow, brown, and deep red, and it is noted for producing a startling snort when it is taken out of the water. This fish has a short, stout body and a broad head with a thick bony plate. The broad-tailed pirarara is a strong fighter that has been reported to 125 pounds and is desirable table fare.

These catfish are primarily predatory carnivores; when deliberately pursued by anglers, they are caught on whole or cut fish for bait. Some other South American catfish, presumably those seldom encountered by anglers, are herbivores. The armored catfish of the Amazon, for example, eat fleshy fruits, leaves, and mollusks, especially when the forests are flooded.

Sea catfish

Hardhead Catfish

Gafftopsail Catfish

Although the vast majority of catfish inhabit freshwater, some live in the ocean. Sea catfish of the family Ariidae are best known for the remarkable way they incubate their eggs. The male picks up the eggs as the female lays them and holds them in his mouth until they hatch. With 50 or more pea-size eggs, this can be a mouthful. More astonishing, when the eggs hatch, the male continues to serve the needs of his progeny by permitting them to use his mouth as a place of refuge. Up to a month may pass before the swarming mass of black baby catfish set off on their own. By this time, six or eight weeks have passed since the male has had a meal. Once his appetite is triggered, he does not hesitate to gobble up even his own offspring if they foolishly swim too close.

Sea catfish are found in tropical and subtropical seas throughout the world, sometimes straying into temperate waters that are warmed in summer. The sea catfish common in the Gulf of Mexico and along the southern Atlantic coast of the U.S. is Arius felis. Known as a hardhead catfish or hardhead sea catfish (bagre gato in Spanish), it reportedly ranges as far north as Massachusetts.

About 12 inches long and rarely weighing as much as 2 pounds, this greenish sea catfish has two barbels on its upper jaw and four on the lower. The tail is deeply forked. It is generally abundant, traveling in schools of a hundred or more. It frequents estuaries, and in some areas it enters freshwater. It is most often caught from bridges and piers in passages and inland waterways. Although edible, it is not generally consumed.

The gafftopsail catfish (Bagre marinus) occurs in much the same range as the sea catfish but is more abundant southward through the Caribbean and off northern South America, evidently extending as far as Brazil.

This species, also known as the gafftopsail sea catfish (bagre cacumo in Spanish and bagre-fita in Portuguese) grows larger than the hardhead catfish, usually twice the size. The gafftopsail has only two barbels on the lower jaw, is bluish above and silvery white below. The gafftopsail’s most distinguishing feature is its high dorsal fin, the first ray drawn into a long, slim filament. The pectoral fins also end in long filaments. As does the sea catfish, the male carries the eggs, which may be as much as an inch in diameter, in his mouth until they hatch.

Other members of the sea catfish family, consisting of roughly 40 species in all, occur in warm seas throughout the world, but the family is notably absent from European waters. Sea catfish in Brazil, generally called bagre, are reported to attain a maximum size of 15 kilograms.

Other catfish of note

Wels

Among the numerous catfish, there are many odd species, including some that are armored, some that are parasitic, some that are dangerous, and so forth. This section briefly reviews a few species that have some angling significance, and a few that have no angling significance but are notable for their unusual characteristics.

One of the largest of all freshwater fish, which belongs to the Siluridae family of Eurasian catfish, is the wels (Silurus glanis). The wels is said to exceed 12 feet in length and weigh up to 700 pounds, although the largest reported specimen was 3 meters long and weighed 200 kilograms.

Known also as the Danube catfish, it is found in eastern Europe and northern Asia, primarily in large lakes and rivers, although it has been known to enter brackish water in the Baltic and Black Seas. It inhabits deep-water environs but is reported to feed at night on ducks, voles, crayfish, and smaller fish. Typical of the family, its body is scaleless, the **** fin is long, and there are only two pairs of barbels, one on the upper jaw and one on the lower.

Fish hobbyists know the Siluridae family best for the glass catfish (Kryptopterus bicirrhus), a 4-inch species native to southeastern Asia. The body is so “glassy” that it reflects light in glittering rainbow hues and is transparent enough so that, particularly in young fish, the internal organs are visible. The dorsal fin consists of a single small ray, but the exceptionally long **** fin may contain as many as 60 rays. Unlike many catfish, this species thrives on the companionship of others of its kind. In nature, it lives in small schools.

Another large catfish is Pangasius gigas of the Pangasiidae family. Known as the giant catfish, this species is native to Indochina and the Mekong River basin, but is now listed as rare due to overexploitation. The giant catfish is said to weigh more than 250 pounds and exceed 7 feet in length. It has a deeply forked tail, a small adipose fin, a very long **** fin, a short but high dorsal fin, and a bristling of barbels (two or three pairs) around its mouth.

Catfish of the Clariidae family are unique in possessing an expanded, lunglike cavity in front of the gills and extending along each side of the spine as a much-branched or labyrinthic structure that is well supplied with blood vessels. As a result, these catfish can breathe air, enabling them to remain out of water for long periods if their bodies stay moist. They typically inhabit fouled or stagnant water that no other fish can tolerate. This auxiliary breathing apparatus makes the front of the body thick; the tail portion is thin, flat, and, in some species, almost ribbonlike. Both the dorsal and **** fins are long and spineless, and most species do not have an adipose fin. The body is scaleless, but the skin is thick and covered with mucus, an additional feature that makes possible its long exposure to the air.

The famed walking catfish (Clarias batrachus) is a member of this family. A native of southeastern Asia, it was imported to the U.S. as an oddity for fish hobbyists.

Some were either set free or escaped captivity in southern Florida. With snakelike movements and by using their pectoral fins as “legs,” these catfish literally walk on land. When attempts were made to poison bodies of water to kill them, the walking catfish simply moved out of the undesirable water and traveled overland to a new home, leaving the native species to die.

Similarly, when ponds dry up during the dry season or in periods of drought, walking catfish keep moving to find pools with water. As a last resort, they bury themselves in the mud at the bottom of a pool of water where, like lungfish, they manage to survive until rains come again. Aggressive, reaching a length of about 8 inches, they do not hesitate to attack fish larger than themselves. There are about a half-dozen other species of walking catfish, some from Africa and some from Asia.

Among the smallest of all catfish, the few members comprising the parasitic Trichomycteridae family have a fearsome reputation. The species most responsible for this is the candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa). Only about 2 inches long, this little South American catfish enters the gill cavity of larger fish to suck blood. It has been known to enter the urethra of waders or bathers urinating under water; presumably it mistakes the urea for water exhausted from gills. Once inside, it erects its spines and lodges itself. The pain is agonizing, and the fish can be removed only by surgery. The candiru burrows in sandy bottoms and when disturbed from its natural hiding place, seeks any orifice or protective situation. It is native to the Orinoco and Amazon River basins in northern South America.

Another unusual and harmful tropical species is the electric catfish (Malapterurus electricus), an aggressive fish of the Malapteruridae family, sometimes exceeding 3 feet in length and weighing as much as 50 pounds. It is fearless, attacking and feeding on other fish. A large electric catfish can reportedly deliver a shocking 300 to 400 volts to kill small fish or stun large ones. The initial jolt is generally followed by a series of smaller ones. In addition to serving as a weapon of defense or as a means of overcoming prey, the electrical impulses may act as a sonar of sorts for navigation in the murky tropical waters where the electric catfish lives. The electric organs are located just under the skin along the full length of the body and tail. They are derived from glandular cells in the epidermis rather than from muscle tissue as in other fish ca-pable of generating electricity. In polarity, the electric catfish is negative toward the head and positive toward the tail; this pattern is reversed in the electric eel.

The electric catfish holds among roots and rocks in sluggish or standing water in tropical Africa along the Nile (except Lake Victoria and the rivers of East Africa north of the Zambezi River), in Lake Tanganyika, in the lower Zambezi, Pungwe, and Lower Save Rivers, and throughout the Zaire system.

Catfish senses

The catfish’s exceptional external sensory faculties exist in each of the areas depicted above. The greatest sensitivity is in the barbels and lips.

It is no coincidence that catfish can thrive in diverse habitats and in waters that get extremely warm and stagnant, or that they are attracted to some vile-smelling concoctions offered as angling baits. Catfish are opportunistic feeders, similar to largemouth bass, and they are especially adaptable due to exceptional sensory abilities.

Catfish are believed to primarily rely on smell, taste, and hearing to feed, but this is only partly true. Some species and populations live in clear-water environments and are capable of being effective sight feeders. If you have observed catfish in an aquarium, you have probably noticed how their eyes move and follow things that get their attention. Some species, including channel catfish, may be susceptible to lures where the water permits reasonable visibility. Generally, catfish can see fairly well, but in many of their environments, especially large rivers and reservoirs, turbid water is common if not continuous and their vision is extremely limited. In these waters, hearing, taste, and smell play more important roles than vision in locating food, and these faculties may even be aided by taste and touch.

Channel cats, blues, whites, and flatheads all have a finely developed sense of smell; bullhead have a less developed sense of smell than these species, but it is nevertheless better than that of most other fish. And like other fish, catfish smell as water enters their nares (nostril-like openings on the snout) and contacts an olfactory sac with many folds (catfish have more folds than do most other species). Catfish are first attracted by food odor; smaller fish will often feed, and taste the food, with their chin barbels before taking it. These whiskerlike appendages contain taste buds. Some catfish have taste buds all over their bodies—certain kinds can actually taste with their tails. The external taste buds greatly outnumber the internal ones, although the highest concentration of taste buds exists in the gills, barbels, and mouth. The combination of these intense senses allows catfish to be very aware of objects that produce odor, particularly prey fish, other predators, and other catfish. The distance at which they can detect odors is debatable, but some veteran catfish anglers believe that some catfish have the ability to follow a scent trail from up to 200 feet away. This may be more likely where there is current than in stillwaters.

Catfish also have excellent hearing ability. The otoliths in the inner ears are found in the bones of the skull, and these “ear bones” are connected to the air bladder. Vibrations are transmitted to the ear from the air bladder, which acts as a sounding board, allowing catfish to have greater detection of high-frequency sounds than that of many other species, including trout and bass. Low-frequency sounds are detected through the lateral-line system, a series of sensory cells running the length of both sides of the fish’s body. The fish utilizes its lateral line to determine the direction of currents of water and the presence of nearby objects, as well as to sense vibrations both near and afar.

The highly developed senses of catfish work in combination to make these fish extremely adaptable and very capable of foraging effectively in places and conditions that inhibit other fish.