# New to catfishing but what is this?



## racerjay (Jul 1, 2009)

Howdy,
I'm new to catfishing, and to this forum obviously, but glad I found it. Seems like tons of information here. Anyway, I'm about 10 minutes away from a lake/pond where I can fish above, or below the dam. This place is known for bullheads, and channel cats mostly (as well as carp). The other day I pulled out a huge yellow bullhead... about 22" and probably 3 to 4 pounds. Yesterday I pulled out this catfish, but I'm wondering what it is. My knowledge base is limited, but I haven't seen a cat with an all black face like this before. The tail is forked, so I don't think it's a bullhead, but the mouth seems really large. Any ideas?


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## fhalum (Oct 7, 2008)

Looks like a channel cat to me. The males turn very dark when spawning.


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## racerjay (Jul 1, 2009)

Thanks for the help. The mouth just looked so much bigger than the other Channels I've caught.


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## Backwater Eddy (Jun 16, 2003)

It is a juvenile male Channel Catfish near spawn, there heads will swell up and they look puffy in the face when in nesting mode.


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