Channel catfish prefer well-oxygenated, clean natural waters such as swiftly flowing streams, but they also live in ponds, lakes, sluggish streams, and large reservoirs. Usually, channel catfish live in waters with gravel, sand, or rubble bottoms, rarely waters with mud bottoms.
Moreover, you will hardly find them in dense aquatic weeds. They are naturally freshwater fishes, but they can also survive in brackish and muddy waters.
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During the daytime, channel fishes are found in deep holes, especially in places with the protection of rocks and logs. Their feeding activity and movement usually takes place at late hours of the day and just before sunrise.
Young channel catfish feed in shallow areas, while adults prefer feeding in deeper waters immediately downstream from sand bars. You also hardly find adult channel fishes moving from one place to another. They are mostly sedentary—their young move from one place to another, especially at night when they are feeding.
Age And Growth
Channel catfishes tend to grow more effectively in warm waters. Optimum growth occurs in waters at temperatures of about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. When there is an 18-degree change in temperature, there is always a halving or doubling of their metabolic rate.
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In fresh or natural waters, the average size of the channel catfish caught by fishermen is usually less than 2- 3 pounds. Their size and age that they reach in natural waters depend on a lot of factors.
Research and studies on the age and growth of the channel catfish have shown that they do not reach 1 pound in size in many natural waters until after 2 to 4 years. A study in the Lake of Ozarks showed that the channel fish doesn’t reach a size of 13 inches total length until they are eight years old. The maximum age ever recorded for this fish is forty years.
Subsequently, the channel fish’s growth rate in production ponds depends on factors such as the taste of food, quality and quantity of food fed, water quality, frequency of feeding, and a lot of others. Most farm-raised channel catfishes are harvested at the age of 18 months and a weight of 11/4 pounds.
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