Time for catfish!
There are thousands of species of catfish in the world. In fact, catfish are the largest family of fish in the world. The catfish family is represented in Kansas by blue catfish, flathead catfish, channel catfish, and bullhead. All of the catfish in Kansas are scaleless, have whiskers, and have rough tooth patches in their mouths.
The blue catfish is the largest member of the catfish family in America. The world record blue catfish was 143 pounds! These catfish live mainly in large rivers like the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, but they venture up into the blue river and a small population exists in Tuttle Creek. These fish eat dead and dying fish and crayfish. The blue catfish can easily grow up to ten pounds in places like Tuttle Creek- where there is a large population of gizzard shad. These fish have a very strong sense of taste because, like the other catfish in Kansas, they have taste buds all over their bodies- especially on their "whiskers". Blue catfish (along with the other catfish) are known to congregate below the tubes waiting for unsuspecting fish to be flushed right at them in the turbulent water. There was once a time that I was at the tubes with a friend. We were about to leave when I snagged the one-thousandth rock of the day. As I pulled the line I realized that this was1 no rock- it was something huge. I told my friend to grab the net, because I obviously was going to need it. That fish took me back and forth for 28 minutes before it wrapped around a rock and pulled the hook out of its mouth. There are only two likely suspects for what this fish was, and those are blue catfish and flathead catfish.
Flathead catfish are a more well known catfish in Kansas. The world record flathead was 123 pounds and was caught in the Elk City Reservoir in Kansas. Their habits are more like that of largemouth bass than like the other catfish. For example, flathead only eats live food and will stay motionless for hours waiting for food to come to them. The flathead catfish is a largely unpredictable fish, during the day it stays on its favorite rock and you can only catch it by the professional process of dumb luck (my primary tactic). At night they move into river beds and gorges to feed on whatever fish they can find. Because of their feeding habits, you may catch three of them in a day, or one of them in three months. Although they are the largest predators in Kansas, the average size that I catch them is only 17 inches- not really that monstrous.
here is my dad with a 25in. flathead
The most common catfish in Kansas is the channel catfish. It it the catfish most refer to when they say "I caught a catfish." This catfish can grow to more than fifty pounds, but they usually cap out at seven or eight pounds. They are abundant in every water system in Kansas- ponds, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, creeks, and even in ditches- so long as they stay wet all year. The channel catfish is the least picky fish that I know. They will eat anything that stinks or swims, so long as they can fit it in their mouths. Bait for channel catfish includes: pre-molded catfish dough (in flavors like "liver and cheese"), pretty much any lure that has either scent or motion (meaning all lures), certain vegetables (like corn), anything fit for human consumption, and basically all non-plant organic matter. Channel catfish are easy to find and easy to catch for most young anglers. I on the other hand, couldn't catch a catfish until sixth-grade. If you happen to catch a channel (or blue) catfish, you should first wet your hand, press down on the dorsal fin, and grab just behind the pectorals. If you don't hold these fish right, you could get a two inch serrated barb through your hand. If you happen to catch a bigger catfish (20+ inches) the barbs should be dull- so don't try to hold it by its mouth. I once caught a large channel catfish and though that I could just hold it by the mouth- Like those guys holding giant flathead on tv. The fish clamped down on my hand so hard that it drew blood and nearly made me cry (and we all know that I never cry). 1 those guys on tv are psychotic rednecks, 2 Who on earth does what they see on tv and comes away unharmed, and 3 flathead catfish don't have anywhere near the jaw strength or leverage that blue catfish and channel catfish do. Please learn from my mistakes.
The final fish that I mentioned were the bullheads. I actually have never seen nor heard of anyone who has ever caught a bullhead. I think that it is part of a conspiracy, like how there is no gold in Fort Knox and how the Egyptians had alien contractors build the pyramids. If you have any information regarding bullheads please send it to me so that I can file it between bigfoot and chupacabra. We may yet discover the secrets of the bullhead someday.
All of the catfish (which actually exist) in Kansas give great, consistent fights when hooked, and make good table fare if you catch them at the right size.
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