Catfish comprise a huge portion of the fish population in many freshwater systems in Florida. Anglers can often fill a boat with tasty fish, possibly even land huge ones, after spending little money.
Channel catfish—the most widespread and easiest to catch in Florida—eat almost anything. Some good channel catfish baits include live minnows or shiners, worms, nightcrawlers, crawfish, shad, fish chunks, livers, commercial baits or shrimp. Occasionally channel catfish strike bass or crappie lures.
The St. Johns River and its associated systems contain a large channel catfish population. Joe Purvis set the state record with a 44.5-pound channel catfish from Lake Bluff in Lake County.
White catfish come a close second in population and distribution. They exist throughout Florida and can tolerate some salinity in brackish coastal estuaries. White catfish eat anything that might interest channel catfish.
Jim Miller landed the white catfish state record, an 18.88-pounder from the Withlacoochee River in Marion County.
The biggest of the North American whiskerfish, blue catfish can exceed 125 pounds and give anglers big-game action without going offshore. In Florida, blue catfish inhabit the Escambia, Choctawhatchee, Yellow, Apalachicola and Suwannee River systems.
In May 2015, William Stewart III caught the Florida state record, a 69.5-pounder, while fishing the Choctawhatchee River in Washington County.
Blue catfish eat almost anything, but mainly small fish and fish chunks, especially shad.
With forked tails and bluish-gray bodies, white, channel and blue catfish look similar. Channel catfish have thick and fleshy whiskers, or barbels, whereas blue catfish have thin, light ones.
Young channel catfish show black spots on their backs and sides. Blue catfish look stouter with humped backs and grow much larger than channel or white catfish. White catfish have some mottled coloration and more rounded anal fins than the other species.
Flatheads can also exceed 100 pounds. These predators almost exclusively eat live fish and particularly enjoy crunching small catfish, shad and bluegills. They thrive in rivers with heavy woody cover where they ambush prey, but also live in lakes and reservoirs.
In Florida, these ornery loners mainly inhabit the Apalachicola, Yellow and Escambia river systems. Lavon Nowling pulled a 69.9-pounder from the Yellow River in Santa Rosa County to set the record in August 2020.
Not everyone can afford a boat or even the gasoline to power one, but most people can usually find a good place to fish close to home. Widespread and abundant catfish can live practically anywhere, making them great targets for bank anglers.
Many parks, piers, ponds, or river or lake shorelines throughout Florida offer exciting sport for big fish. When sitting on a bank to fish, toss a few pieces of liver, shrimp or other baits into the water to attract catfish. Throw out just enough to get them interested, but not enough to feed them.