By Mary Syrett, August 2007
- Introduction
- Catching catfish from shore
- Where to catfish in North Carolina
- Recipes
- Download
the full article as a
Where to catfish in North Carolina
The range of catfish locales spans the entire state: ponds, lakes, watersheds, rivers and creeks that have suitable habitat.
Much Tar Heel catfishing today is done in large bodies of water. North Carolina reservoirs have sizable populations of channel, blue and flathead catfish. But these creatures are stream fish by nature. They’ve adapted to reservoir environments, but they originally lived in moving streams. (That’s why they’re called “channel cats.”) Catching catfish in streams is a North Carolina family tradition that predates construction of dams and reservoirs.
Prime rivers to pursue catfish include the Cape Fear, Roanoke, Tar, Neuse and Yadkin. Bullheads, blues and channels are found in abundance in all these streams.
If you prefer lake fishing, head for Lake Norman, the state’s largest impoundment. It harbors several species of catfish, particularly huge blues. The rod-and-reel state-record blue catfish is a 98-pound specimen. The ideal baits for blue catfish are cut shad and live sunfish.
Another catfish hotspot is Badin Lake, perhaps North Carolina’s most acclaimed catfish reservoir. Covering 5,300 acres of the impounded Yadkin River, channels and blues thrive here. Night fishing can prove to be especially profitable. Falls Lake, particularly the upper half, is another excellent catfishing locale.
In eastern North Carolina, Lake Phelps is popular for channel catfish, Lake Mattamuskett features lots of white catfish, Lake Sutton is popular for both whites and channels, as is Lake Waccamaw. Lake Chatuge in the western part of the state on the Georgia/North Carolina border impounds 7,000 acres along the Hiwassee River. It is well known for huge channel catfish.
Flatheads are perhaps the ugliest members of the catfish family. But when it comes to tasty fillets, flatheads are tops on the table. The homely critters inhabit many of the state’s rivers, creeks and lakes, and can be caught on a variety of baits.
Some words of warning are needed for flatheads. Anglers love the flathead catfish because it’s big, puts up a good fight and tastes good. But the flathead is unique among American catfish in that it must eat living fishes or other living invertebrates, including crabs and crayfish. It won’t eat plants or any dead material, and you can’t catch flatheads with popular catfish baits such as nightcrawlers or chicken liver. The creature’s fondness for live food has fisheries officials worried about some native North Carolina fish species, including the redbreast sunfish, white catfish and bullhead species, which have all seen a population decline in areas where flatheads have been introduced.
Flathead catfish are not native to North Carolina; the species was introduced to the state in the mid-1960s as a sport fish. Little did North Carolina officials know then that the flathead would put its carnivorous traits to use in harmful ways. To help control flathead population in the state, anglers can catch-keep-and-eat when they haul in a flathead catfish.
| top |