channel catfish

noun

: a large black-spotted catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) that is an important freshwater food fish of the U.S. and Canada

called also channel cat

Examples of channel catfish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

White catfish have between 19 and 23 rays, channel catfish have 24 to 30, and blue catfish have the longest anal fin with 30 to 36 rays in total. —Ken Perrotte, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2026

Try Fishing or Paddling Try your luck at reeling in walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, white crappie, and channel catfish. —Taryn Shorr-McKee, Midwest Living, 4 June 2026

In Ferril Lake alone, fishers have caught bluegill, bullhead, carp, channel catfish, crappie, gizzard shad, green sunfish, largemouth bass, yellow perch and even rainbow trout (catchable-size, stocked in spring, according to Denver Parks & Recreation). —John Wenzel, Denver Post, 2 June 2026

Nightcrawlers or liver may work for channel catfish. —Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for channel catfish

• bluefish
• codfish
• crawfish
• dogfish
• finfish
• flatfish
• goldfish
• groundfish
• kingfish
• offish
• redfish
• rockfish