Blue Catfish
Ictalurus furcatus
The largest catfish in North America, the blue catfish is a slate-blue, deeply forked-tailed giant that can exceed 100 pounds. It roams the deep channels and tailwaters of Alabama's big rivers and Tennessee River reservoirs, where it is prized by trophy anglers drift-fishing cut bait over open water.
Deep river channels, tailwaters, and open reservoir basins.
How to Catch Blue Catfish
Whether you're new to targeting Blue Catfish or refining your approach, success starts with matching your tactics to where the fish lives. Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) is typically found in river water, lake water, and reservoir water, so concentrate your effort where those conditions line up. Mature Blue Catfish average around 25 inches, which helps you choose the right line, lure size, and tackle for the fight.
Where to Find Blue Catfish in the USA & Canada
Blue Catfish is recorded across a range of North American waters, including spots in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Browse the linked water guides below to see the specific lakes, rivers, and coastal waters where anglers report catching Blue Catfish, then plan a trip around the water closest to you.
Blue Catfish Fishing Regulations & Limits
Fishing rules for Blue Catfish vary by state and province. Before you head out, check the daily bag limits, minimum size limits, and open seasons that apply in your area. When FishFinder has matching records, the regulations link below takes you to the rules hub. Following local limits keeps Blue Catfish populations healthy for future seasons.
Related Water Guides for Blue Catfish
Explore these FishFinder water guides for places where Blue Catfish is recorded:
- Lake Guntersville — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Wheeler Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Wilson Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Pickwick Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Weiss Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lay Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Logan Martin Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Neely Henry Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Martin — Blue Catfish fishing water
- R.L. Harris Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Yates Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Thurlow Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Walter F. George Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- West Point Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lewis Smith Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Alabama River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Mobile-Tensaw Delta — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Dardanelle — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Chicot — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Arkansas River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lower Mississippi River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Clear Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Nanticoke River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Delaware River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Chesapeake & Delaware Canal — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Savannah River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Altamaha River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Powerton Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Clinton Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Carlyle Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Ohio River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Wabash River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Monroe Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Patoka Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Mississippi River (Iowa Waters) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Missouri River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Milford Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Wilson Reservoir (Kansas) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Cheney Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Clinton Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Perry Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- El Dorado Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Kanopolis Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Glen Elder Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Tuttle Creek Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Melvern Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Pomona Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- John Redmond Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lovewell Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Kansas River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Arkansas River (Kansas) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Kentucky Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Barkley — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Barren River Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Taylorsville Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Dewey Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Fishtrap Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Yatesville Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Kentucky River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Green River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Toledo Bend Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Caddo Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Sabine River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Poverty Point Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- False River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Eagle Lake (Louisiana) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- John K. Kelly-Grand Bayou Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Bussey Brake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- D'Arbonne Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Atchafalaya Basin — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lac des Allemands — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Verret — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Bistineau — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Cross Lake (Louisiana) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Claiborne — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Black Lake (Louisiana) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Red River (Louisiana) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Ouachita River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Henderson Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Ross Barnett Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Grenada Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Sardis Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Enid Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Arkabutla Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Pickwick Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Eagle Lake (Mississippi) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Washington — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Moon Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Pascagoula River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake of the Ozarks — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Harry S. Truman Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Table Rock Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Bull Shoals Lake (Missouri) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Norfork Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Stockton Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Mark Twain Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Smithville Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Wappapello Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Thomas Hill Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Mississippi River (Pools 20-26) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Elwood Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lewis and Clark Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Missouri River (Nebraska Waters) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Box Butte Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Minatare — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Zorinsky Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Elephant Butte Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Norman — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Wylie — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Badin Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Tillery — Blue Catfish fishing water
- High Rock Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- John H. Kerr Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Gaston — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Roanoke Rapids Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Cape Fear River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Dan River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Ohio River (Ohio) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Texoma — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Grand Lake O' the Cherokees — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Eufaula — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Fort Gibson Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Thunderbird — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Keystone Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Arkansas River (Oklahoma) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lower Red River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Marion — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Moultrie — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Santee River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Congaree River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Cooper River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Monticello — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Wateree — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Thurmond — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Great Pee Dee River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Chickamauga Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Nickajack Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Watts Bar Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Fort Loudoun Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Fork — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Sam Rayburn Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- O.H. Ivie Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Alan Henry — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Conroe — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Livingston — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Trinity River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Choke Canyon Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Ray Hubbard — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Tawakoni — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Richland Chambers Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Bob Sandlin — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake O' the Pines — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Fayette County Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Grapevine Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Falcon International Reservoir — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Amistad — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Whitney — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Possum Kingdom Lake — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Belton — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Buggs Island Lake (Kerr Reservoir) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Lake Anna — Blue Catfish fishing water
- James River (Virginia) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Staunton River — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Ohio River (West Virginia) — Blue Catfish fishing water
- Kanawha River — Blue Catfish fishing water
Blue Catfish Regulations
Review current FishFinder regulation records before targeting Blue Catfish:
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of water is best for catching Blue Catfish?
Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) is typically found in river water, lake water, and reservoir water. Focus your effort where those conditions line up to improve your chances.
How big does Blue Catfish get?
Mature Blue Catfish average around 25 inches, though individual fish can run larger. Matching your line, lure size, and tackle to that range makes for a better fight and landing rate.
Where can I catch Blue Catfish in the USA and Canada?
Blue Catfish is reported across North American waters, including spots in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Check the locations listed on this page to find the lakes, rivers, and coastal waters closest to you.
Do I need a fishing license to catch Blue Catfish?
A valid fishing license is required in most US states and Canadian provinces. Daily bag limits, minimum size limits, and open seasons for Blue Catfish vary by region, so review the regulations on this page and with your local wildlife authority before heading out.