The Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus)

The channel catfish is most commonly found around the bottom of a lake or pond. It is a scavenger and will eat just about anything it can find. It will eat live fish, although it is not considered to be a predator. It generally has little effect on the predator/prey roles except where exceptionally large fish are found. It will take to commercial fish food and has tremendous growth potential.

The live channel catfish for sale is growing in popularity among sports fishermen due to its large size, hard fighting ability, and its tasty flesh. The channel catfish can be distinguished from other catfish by the presence of dark spots on its body and a deeply forked tail. But will channel catfish reproduce in a pond? Channel catfish do not generally reproduce in ponds due to the absence of an adequate spawning structure. A suitable structure can be added by placing a bucket or drain tile in the depth of 3 to 4 feet of water along the bottom of the pond. One-year-old fish may range in size from 3 to 8 inches. channel catfish usually become sexually mature when they reach at least 11 inches.

How To Buy Channel Catfish

Smith Creek Fish Farm is centrally located in Western New York about an hour's drive from Buffalo and Rochester.  The hatchery and retail pond supply outlet have seasonal hours for fish pickup and walk-in customers. Our expert fish packers will oxygen bag your live channel catfish for easy, safe, and stress-free transport.

We do suggest bringing coolers or totes to hold your bagged fish.  Truck delivery of trout, game fish, and forage is available in the WNY area when orders meet our delivery minimums. We also safely ship, by UPS Next Day Air, many of our fish species including triploid grass carp and crayfish. 

Unfortunately, we ONLY ship fish to New York addresses. All of our fish hold current NY DEC certified disease-free Health Certificates and have been for more than 15 years.

Current Availability