Flathead Catfish
Pylodictis olivaris
A large, solitary predator with a broad flattened head and protruding lower jaw, the flathead catfish hunts live prey in deep holes and around submerged timber. Mottled yellow-brown in color, it grows to trophy sizes in Alabama's rivers and reservoirs and is a favorite target of nighttime bank anglers.
Deep holes, logjams, and submerged timber in warm rivers and reservoirs.
How to Catch Flathead Catfish
Whether you're new to targeting Flathead Catfish or refining your approach, success starts with matching your tactics to where the fish lives. Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) is typically found in river water, lake water, and reservoir water, so concentrate your effort where those conditions line up. Mature Flathead Catfish average around 25 inches, which helps you choose the right line, lure size, and tackle for the fight.
Where to Find Flathead Catfish in the USA & Canada
Flathead Catfish is recorded across a range of North American waters, including spots in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Browse the linked water guides below to see the specific lakes, rivers, and coastal waters where anglers report catching Flathead Catfish, then plan a trip around the water closest to you.
Flathead Catfish Fishing Regulations & Limits
Fishing rules for Flathead 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 Flathead Catfish populations healthy for future seasons.
Related Water Guides for Flathead Catfish
Explore these FishFinder water guides for places where Flathead Catfish is recorded:
- Mississippi River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Guntersville — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Wheeler Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Wilson Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Pickwick Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Weiss Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lay Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Logan Martin Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Neely Henry Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Walter F. George Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Alabama River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Mobile-Tensaw Delta — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Havasu — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Colorado River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Theodore Roosevelt Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Apache Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Bartlett Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Pleasant — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Alamo Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Dardanelle — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Chicot — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Arkansas River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lower Mississippi River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Colorado River (California) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Nanticoke River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Delaware River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Seminole — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Apalachicola River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Coosa River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Savannah River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Altamaha River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Illinois River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Fox Chain O'Lakes — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Powerton Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Carlyle Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Ohio River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Wabash River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- White River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Monroe Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Patoka Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Mississinewa Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Rathbun — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Saylorville Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Red Rock — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Coralville Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Mississippi River (Iowa Waters) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Missouri River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Big Sioux River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Cedar River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Des Moines River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Iowa River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Turkey River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Milford Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Wilson Reservoir (Kansas) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Cheney Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Clinton Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Perry Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- El Dorado Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Kanopolis Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Glen Elder Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Tuttle Creek Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Melvern Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Cedar Bluff Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Council Grove Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Marion Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Pomona Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Hillsdale Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Big Hill Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- John Redmond Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lovewell Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Kansas River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Arkansas River (Kansas) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Kentucky Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Barkley — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Cumberland — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Dale Hollow Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Barren River Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Cave Run Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Green River Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Taylorsville Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Nolin River Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Rough River Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Laurel River Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Grayson Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Buckhorn Lake (Kentucky) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Dewey Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Fishtrap Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Yatesville Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Herrington Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Cumberland River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Kentucky River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Green River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Toledo Bend Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Caddo Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Sabine River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Poverty Point Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- False River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Eagle Lake (Louisiana) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- John K. Kelly-Grand Bayou Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Bussey Brake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- D'Arbonne Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Atchafalaya Basin — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lac des Allemands — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Verret — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Bistineau — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Cross Lake (Louisiana) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Claiborne — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Chicot Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Black Lake (Louisiana) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Red River (Louisiana) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Ouachita River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Henderson Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- St. Croix River (Minnesota) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Pepin — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Big Stone Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Ross Barnett Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Grenada Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Sardis Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Enid Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Arkabutla Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Pickwick Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Eagle Lake (Mississippi) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Washington — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Moon Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Pascagoula River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake of the Ozarks — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Harry S. Truman Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Table Rock Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Bull Shoals Lake (Missouri) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Norfork Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Stockton Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Pomme de Terre Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Mark Twain Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Smithville Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Wappapello Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Meramec River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Gasconade River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Mississippi River (Pools 20-26) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Harlan County Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Sherman Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Elwood Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Branched Oak Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lewis and Clark Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Missouri River (Nebraska Waters) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Johnson Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Maloney — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Cape Fear River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- New River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Maumee River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Ohio River (Ohio) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Hoover Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Texoma — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Keystone Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Arkansas River (Oklahoma) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Kiamichi River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lower Red River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Susquehanna River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Marion — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Moultrie — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Congaree River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Great Pee Dee River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Edisto River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Watts Bar Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Sam Rayburn Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Conroe — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Livingston — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Trinity River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Choke Canyon Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Tawakoni — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Richland Chambers Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Falcon International Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Amistad — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Whitney — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Possum Kingdom Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Smith Mountain Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Buggs Island Lake (Kerr Reservoir) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Claytor Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Leesville Reservoir — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- James River (Virginia) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Staunton River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Ohio River (West Virginia) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Kanawha River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- New River (West Virginia) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Monongahela River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Bluestone Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Winnebago — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Wolf River (Wisconsin) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lower Fox River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Mississippi River (Wisconsin-Minnesota Boundary) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- St. Croix River (Wisconsin) — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Wisconsin River — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Petenwell — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Castle Rock Lake — Flathead Catfish fishing water
- Lake Koshkonong — Flathead Catfish fishing water
Flathead Catfish Regulations
Review current FishFinder regulation records before targeting Flathead Catfish:
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of water is best for catching Flathead Catfish?
Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) 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 Flathead Catfish get?
Mature Flathead 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 Flathead Catfish in the USA and Canada?
Flathead Catfish is reported across North American waters, including spots in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. 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 Flathead Catfish?
A valid fishing license is required in most US states and Canadian provinces. Daily bag limits, minimum size limits, and open seasons for Flathead Catfish vary by region, so review the regulations on this page and with your local wildlife authority before heading out.