Hillbilly Hut Pic's

Many people would argue that this super nice catfish is a Blue Catfish, but they'd be super wrong. This large cat is a Channel Catfish. He was caught just before daybreak above the Shenango Dam in Sharpsville, PA. It was caught using chicken liver and a circle hook laying on the bottom. Identification of this fish as a channel catfish vs a blue catfish was a little difficult. Basically, it's all about the anal fin being rounded on a channel cat and flat-edged on a blue. Channel Cats at this stage of maturity will have a dark blue to gray slate color on the topside and most of the tail with a lighter belly. Blue Cat's have a much bluer color to them overall. This big guy was roughly 31 inches long and weighed between 12 and 14 pounds.