If you are going to focus on catching catfish as an angler, it is important that you know the different features that distinguish catfish species. While it is easy to identify a catfish because of their prominent barbels, there are other features you can use to tell the catfish species apart.
Catfish with Spots and Yellow Belly
The common catfish you can catch I rivers and lakes are the channel catfish, flathead catfish, and the blue catfish. These are all freshwater catfish species that live in water bodies all around us. Knowing the catfish species in your region helps, you can plan to achieve massive commercial sales when you find a market that prefers the particular catfish species in your region.
Understanding the distinguishing features that can be used to tell which catfish species you are catching can also help with preserving the species, and mapping the areas they are found to help other anglers who need this information.
In this article, I will be writing about two distinguishing features that can be used to identify two catfish species quickly.
Catfish with spots
If you have been noticing spots on the catfish you land during fishing trips; you are most probably catching the channel catfish. These catfish species are in high demand, the channel catfish grow to about 30 to 50 inches as adults, and this depends on how well they feed. Channel catfish have dark spots on their backs; these spots are very conspicuous on the younger channel catfish. The older adults of this catfish species tend to have fewer spots on their bodies.
This means if you catch a channel catfish with dark spots that are very visible, you have probably caught a young catfish. If you are only trying to trap older adults, you can release the fish into the water and keep hunting for the adults with fewer dark spots.
Catfish with a yellow belly
These catfish species are commonly called “yellow belly” among anglers, and this feature is a main distinguishing mark on the flathead catfish. So you know which catfish species fellow anglers are referring to when they say yellow belly.
The flathead catfish can have dark brown or yellow skin on their backs; however, the bellies are predominantly yellowish in color. The sides on this catfish species are also yellow or dark brown. The flathead catfish grows to about 50 inches; at this length, it can be classified as a full grown adult which and weigh over 100 lbs.
Yellow bellies are also known to prefer the muddy parts of the river; they can stay hidden in the mud for a long time, feeding on aquatic animals that come close. The mud provides cover and a good place to spawn. The young flatheads are usually dark brown in color with little evidence of yellow markings. The yellowish shade becomes more prominent when the catfish grows older.
The flathead catfish are known to eat smaller fish as a preference. While the channel catfish with its dark spots are known to be scavengers, feeding on fish, aquatic plants and frogs among other edible things found in the river.
