Updated: February 2024
What follows are the catfish state records for all 49 states that track them, as well as the world records for the species most commonly caught in the United States.
I’ve always loved catching catfish. The best catfishing I’ve ever experienced was as a boy visiting Louisiana. Of course, my grandmother had a friend with a catfish farm who let us cast into his ponds. Talk about fast action and big fish!
We want this article to be the most comprehensive and updated resource for record catfish in America. As such, the table that follows will list all species that each state certifies as records.
Of course, we’ll tell you about each state’s humongous blue catfish, their giant flatheads, and their sizable channel catfish. Those are often considered the “Big Three” of American catfish, thanks to their jumbo sizes and delicious meat. In some states, white catfish round out the roster.
And yes, this list even includes the various bullheads some of you might wish would stay off your hook, the tiny stonecats found in some northerly states measured in fractions of an ounce, and those pesky saltwater catfish that steal your baits when you’re chasing redfish and flounder in the Gulf.
Before the state records, let’s look at the world-record marks for the catfish species most often caught in our country.
If you want to jump quickly to the state records, click the table of contents.
World Record Catfish
For this section, we’ll look at the records kept by the Florida-based International Game Fish Association (IGFA).
While the IGFA is the most recognized keeper of sport-fishing records on the planet, it’s worth noting that its records don’t always line up with state records, including some catfish records.
Later in this article, we’ll tell you a bit about saltwater catfish records kept in a handful of states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, but for now we’re sticking with freshwater catfish species found across a much larger swath of the U.S.
Blue Catfish World Record
The world record blue catfish weighed an incredible 143 pounds.
Richard Nicholas Anderson landed this behemoth in 2011 at Kerr Lake, which is also known as Buggs Island Lake. This Roanoke River reservoir is located on the border between Virginia and North Carolina, and that world record also sits as the Virginia state record.
Blue catfish are the largest catfish species in America, with a good handful of states you’ll find below able to grow these thick-body giants to over 100 pounds.
Though native to the Mississippi River and a few other locations, blue catfish have been introduced coast to coast. Some of the largest specimens have been caught in recent decades in the larger rivers and reservoirs along the East Coast, although California also grows some whoppers.
The blue catfish, not surprisingly, are big eaters. Tempting them with a mouthful of freshly cut fish hooked to some strong tackle is often the winning strategy.
The only species of catfish known to grow larger than the blue is the Wels catfish, a European species.
More Giant Blues
Just for fun, let’s get a fast look at the 100-plus-pound blue catfish lined up behind the world record from Virginia. Triple-digit catfish have set records in more than a third of U.S. states, from California to the Carolinas, Iowa to Louisiana.
Here they are:
- Mississippi: 131 lbs from the Mississippi River
- Missouri: 130 lbs from the Missouri River
- North Carolina: 127 lbs, 1 oz from the Roanoke River
- Illinois: 124 lbs from the Mississippi River
- Tennessee: 122 lbs, 3 oz from Barkley Reservoir
- Texas: 121.5 lbs from Lake Texoma
- Alabama: 120 lbs, 4 oz from Holt Reservoir
- Arkansas: 116 lbs, 12 oz from the Mississippi River
- Louisiana: 114 lbs from the Mississippi River
- South Carolina: 113.8 lbs from Lake Moultrie
- California: 113 lbs, 5 oz from San Vicente Reservoir
- Georgia: 110 lbs, 6 oz from the Chattahoochee River
- Kentucky: 106.9 lbs from the Ohio River
- Indiana: 104 lbs from the Ohio River
- Kansas: 102.8 lbs from the Missouri River
- Iowa: 101 lbs from the Missouri River
- Nebraska: 100 lbs, 8 oz from the Missouri River
Flathead Catfish World Record
The largest flathead catfish ever caught on a rod and reel was a 123-pounder that Jason D. Atkins managed to land at Elk City Reservoir in Kansas in 1998.
When you see those reality TV shows of people sticking their hands into watery dens to wrestle out giant catfish, what you’re watching are flathead catfish.
The flathead, with its telltale shovel-shaped noggin, can grow to sizes almost as large as the blues and inhabits many of the same rivers in its native Mississippi River drainage. It also has been transplanted coast-to-coast and often thrives in larger rivers or big reservoirs.
That Kansas flathead is even more remarkable in that (unlike the blue catfish records) we couldn’t find another state in our union that currently lists its flathead catfish record over 100 pounds. A few states have come very close, however, as you can see in the table below.
Flathead catfish are known as some of the best hunters among the various catfish species. A live fish such as a bluegill or other fish inhabiting the same waters as the flatheads tends to be the top bait.
Channel Catfish World Record
The world record channel cat has stood since 1958 when W. Whaley pulled a 58-pounder from the Santee Cooper Lakes of South Carolina.
Only a couple of other states have produced channel catfish over 50 pounds, but a decent number of waters across the U.S. can yield a 30-pounder, and a good handful have given up 40-plus-pounders.
If you’re eating catfish at your buddy’s fish fry or buying a plateful of fried fish and a side of hush puppies at a restaurant, like I do when I visit kin in the South, you almost certainly are dining on channel catfish.
As with other species in this article, channel catfish are native to the Mississippi River system, from parts of Canada on down. They’ve since been stocked from coast to coast and beyond.
Channel cats are simply the most commonly sought species when millions of Americans go catfishing each year. They are often caught in perfect eating sizes and are often easy and always fun to catch.
Cut fish baits and prawns are excellent options for channel catfish bait, but you’re probably just as likely to catch them on a worm, a blob of stink bait, or a piece of hot dog. While bait is the best way to catch them in numbers, I’ve had channel cats hit bass lures now and then.
White Catfish World Record
The IGFA lists the world record for white catfish as a 19-pound, 5-ounce fish that Richard D. Price caught in 2005 caught in Oakdale, California.
However, this is one of those catfish records that deserves an asterisk. Even the state of California lists its own state record as a 22-pounder caught in a park pond in Sacramento County.
And Washington State’s white catfish record also narrowly eclipses the IGFA mark at 19.85 pounds.
The white catfish is in the bullhead family but can grow larger and is often more prized than its black, brown and yellow cousins.
White catfish, a.k.a. white bullheads, are native along the East Coast from New York to Florida. They also have been widely transplanted, but not necessarily to the extent of several other species in this article.
Simple bait-fishing techniques with worms, cut bait, or other offerings will tempt white catfish.
Bullhead Catfish World Records
Here are the IGFA’s records for the three most common U.S. species often known simply as bullheads:
- Black Bullhead: 8 pounds, 2 ounces, caught by Frank Piazza at Massapequa Lake on Long Island, New York, in 2015.
- Brown Bullhead: 7 pounds, 6 ounces, caught by Glenn Collacuro at Mahopac Lake in New York in 2009.
- Yellow Bullhead: 6 pounds, 6 ounces, caught by John R. Irvin in Drexel, Missouri, in 2006.
As with other American catfish, these bullhead species all originated in the Central and Eastern states, but they also have been widely transplanted across the country.
Ironically, given their color-coded names, color is not the best way to determine between bullhead species because it varies widely in all three of these species.
There are some fin differences and other distinctions that are too involved to deal with here. Suffice it to say if you catch a possible record, make sure a fisheries biologist confirms the species.
In most states, a 5-pound bullhead of any of these three types would be a tank of a specimen and perhaps your state’s record. As many as I’ve caught, probably only a handful have been 10 inches or longer.
What they lack in size, bullheads make up for in toughness.
When I was a kid in Southern California, we kept a few bullheads in a plastic garbage can on the back patio so we could go fishing anytime we wanted.
Now, in my longtime home state of Oregon, I can catch bullheads from high-mountain lakes better known for trout and landlocked salmon clear down to shallow ponds at sea level that get so warm and oxygen-deprived in the summer that most other fish can’t survive. Even our carp can’t handle those extremes.
Bullheads are opportunistic scavengers for just about any bait, but I’ve caught more on a simple worm rig than anything else.
Catfish State Records
The following table lists all the freshwater catfish records by state.
Note that different states keep records for different species, even though some have more species than they certify as records.
Bullheads, in particular, are treated quite differently from state to state. To keep the table readable on mobile phones, I’ve abbreviated bullhead (BH) for states that list the individual black, brown and yellow varieties.
Only Alaska doesn’t keep catfish records.
A few states maintain records for stonecats, or madtoms, which are a small, native catfish species often found in streams and other waters east of the Rocky Mountains. Texas has redtail and suckermouth catfish records, and Hawaii keeps a record of Chinese catfish.
How to Use the Table
The RESOURCES column offers you a quick link or two to more information on Best Fishing in America’s website.
The Fishing Records links will take you to all fishing records for that state. I’ve kept this table deliberately simple, so that link is where you can find out when and where the records were caught and by whom.
For many states, we also have links to Best Catfish Fishing articles that will tell you about some of the top places to catch catfish, especially the more popular blues, channels and flatheads.
Have fun!
| STATE | SPECIES: WEIGHT | RESOURCES |
| Alabama | Blue: 120 lbs, 4 oz Brown BH: 4 lbs, 3 oz Channel: 40 lbs Flathead: 80 lbs White: 10 lbs, 5 oz | Alabama Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in AL |
| Alaska | No Record | Alaska Fishing Records |
| Arizona | Black BH: 2 lbs, 6.1 oz Yellow BH: 4 lbs, 8.1 oz Channel: 33.36 lbs Flathead: 76 lbs, 8.64 oz | Arizona Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in AZ |
| Arkansas | Blue: 116 lbs, 12 oz Black BH: 4 lbs, 12 oz Brown BH: 3 lbs, 3 oz Yellow BH: 2 lbs, 7 oz Channel: 38 lbs Flathead: 80 lbs | Arkansas Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in AR |
| California | Blue: 113 lbs, 5 oz Brown BH: 4 lbs, 8 oz Channel: 53 lbs, 8 oz Flathead: 72 lbs, 14 oz White: 22 lbs | California Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in CA |
| Colorado | Blue: 33.53 lbs Black BH: 5.06 lbs Channel: 43.38 lbs Flathead: 33.85 lbs | Colorado Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in CO |
| Connecticut | Brown BH: 4 lbs, 15 oz Channel: 29 lbs, 6 oz White: 12 lbs, 12 oz | CT Fishing Records |
| Delaware | Blue: 53 lbs, 0 oz Channel: 23 lbs, 6 oz | Delaware Fishing Records |
| Florida | Blue: 69.5 lbs Brown BH: 7.02 lbs Yellow BH: 5.05 lbs Channel: 44.5 lbs Flathead: 69.9 lbs White: 18.88 lbs | Florida Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in FL |
| Georgia | Blue: 110 lbs, 6 oz Brown BH: 5 lbs, 8 oz Yellow BH: 4 lbs, 15 oz Channel: 44 lbs, 12 oz Flathead: 83 lbs White: 8 lbs, 10 oz | Georgia Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in GA |
| Hawaii | Channel: 43 lbs, 13 oz Chinese: 2 lbs, 11 oz | Hawaii Fishing Records |
| Idaho | Bullhead: 3.88 lbs Channel: 32.9 lbs Flathead: 58.5 lbs | Idaho Fishing Records |
| Illinois | Blue: 124 lbs, 0 oz Black BH: 5 lbs, 6 oz Brown BH: 3 lbs, 4.8 oz Yellow BH: 5 lbs, 4 oz Channel: 45 lbs, 4 oz Flathead: 81 lbs, 6.4 oz | Illinois Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in IL |
| Indiana | Blue: 104 lbs Bullhead: 4.9 lbs Channel: 37 lbs, 8 oz Flathead: 79 lbs, 8 oz White: 9.72 lbs | Indiana Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in IN |
| Iowa | Blue: 101 lbs Black BH: 5.5 lbs Brown BH: 1.25 lbs Yellow BH: 2.4 lbs Channel: 38.13 lbs Flathead: 81 lbs | Iowa Fishing Records |
| Kansas | Blue: 102.8 lbs Bullhead: 7.33 lbs Channel: 36.5 lbs Flathead: 123 lbs* | Kansas Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in KS |
| Kentucky | Blue: 106.9 lbs Bullhead: 5 lbs, 8 oz Channel: 32 lbs Flathead: 97 lbs White: 5.27 lbs | Kentucky Fishing Records |
| Louisiana | Blue: 114 lbs Channel: 30.31 lbs Flathead: 95 lbs | Louisiana Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in LA |
| Maine | White: 6.69 lbs | Maine Fishing Records |
| Maryland | Blue: 84 lbs Bullhead: 4.9 lbs Channel: 29.6 lbs Flathead: 57 lbs | MD Fishing Records |
| Massachusetts | Bullhead: 6 lbs, 4 oz Channel: 26 lbs, 8 oz White: 9 lbs, 3 oz | MA Fishing Records |
| Michigan | Black BH: 3.44 lbs Brown BH: 3.77 lbs Yellow BH: 3.6 lbs Channel: 40 lbs Flathead: 53.35 lbs | Michigan Fishing Records |
| Minnesota | Black BH: 3 lbs, 13 oz Brown BH: 7 lbs, 1 oz Yellow BH: 3 lbs, 10 oz Channel: 38 lbs Flathead: 70 lbs | MN Fishing Records |
| Mississippi | Blue: 131 lbs Black BH: 5.56 lbs Brown BH: 6.13 lbs Yellow BH: 2 lbs, 13 oz Channel: 51 lbs, 12 oz Flathead: 77.7 lbs | MS Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in MS |
| Missouri | Blue: 130 lbs Black BH: 4 lbs, 11 oz Brown BH: 3 lbs, 4 oz Yellow BH: 6 lbs, 6 oz* Channel: 34 lbs, 10 oz Flathead: 77 lbs, 8 oz | Missouri Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in MO |
| Montana | Black BH: 2.6 lbs Yellow BH: 1.91 lbs Channel: 35.18 lbs Stonecat: 0.54 lbs | Montana Fishing Records |
| Nebraska | Blue: 100 lbs, 8 oz Channel: 41 lbs, 8 oz Flathead: 89 lbs Stonecat: 5.2 oz | Nebraska Fishing Records |
| Nevada | Bullhead: 6 lbs, 11 oz Channel: 32 lbs, 7 oz White: 17 lbs, 4 oz | Nevada Fishing Records |
| New Hampshire | Brown BH: 3 lbs, 4.8 oz Yellow BH: 2 lbs, 8 oz Channel: 15 lbs, 12.8 oz White: 5 lbs, 11 oz | NH Fishing Records |
| New Jersey | Brown BH: 4 lbs, 8 oz Channel: 33 lbs, 3 oz White: 14 lbs, 4 oz | NJ Fishing Records |
| New Mexico | Blue: 52 lbs, 0.25 oz Channel: 36 lbs, 8 oz Flathead: 78 lbs oz | N. Mexico Fishing Records |
| New York | Black BH: 7 lbs, 7 oz* Brown BH: 7 lbs, 6 oz* Channel: 35 lbs, 12 oz White: 10 lbs, 5 oz | New York Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in NY |
| North Carolina | Blue: 127 lbs, 1 oz Brown BH: 4 lbs Channel: 27 lbs, 7 oz Flathead: 78 lbs, 14 oz White: 13 lbs | N. Carolina Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in NC |
| North Dakota | Black BH: 4 lbs 1 oz. Channel: 42 lbs, 1 oz | N. Dakota Fishing Records |
| Ohio | Blue: 96 lbs Bullhead: 4.25 lbs Channel: 37.65 lbs Flathead: 76.5 lbs | Ohio Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in OH |
| Oklahoma | Blue: 98 lbs Channel: 35 lbs, 15 oz Flathead: 78 lbs, 8 oz | Oklahoma Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in OK |
| Oregon | Bullhead: 3 lbs, 7 oz Channel: 36 lbs, 8 oz Flathead: 42 lbs White: 15 lbs | Oregon Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in OR |
| Pennsylvania | Bullhead: 4 lbs, 10 oz Channel: 35 lbs, 3 oz Flathead: 66 lbs, 6 oz | PA Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in PA |
| Rhode Island | Brown BH: 4 lbs, 9.44 oz White: 16 lbs, 12 oz | Rhode Is. Fishing Records |
| South Carolina | Blue: 113.8 lbs Bullhead: 6 lbs, 6.3 oz Channel: 58 lbs* Flathead: 84 lbs, 9.6 oz White: 12 lbs, 2.9 oz | S. Carolina Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in SC |
| South Dakota | Blue: 99 lbs, 4 oz Black BH: 4 lbs, 12 oz Brown BH: 3 lbs, 11 oz Yellow BH: 3 lbs, 3 oz Channel: 30 lbs, 1 oz Flathead: 63 lbs, 8 oz | S. Dakota Fishing Records |
| Tennessee | Blue: 122 lbs, 3 oz Black BH: 3 lbs, 6 oz Brown BH: 3 lbs, 15 oz Yellow BH: 4 lbs, 8 oz Channel: 41 lbs Flathead: 85 lbs, 15 oz | Tenn. Fishing Records |
| Texas | Blue: 121.5 lbs Black BH: 5.15 lbs Yellow BH: 3.66 lbs Channel: 36.5 lbs Flathead: 98.5 lbs Redtail: 1.48 lbs Suckermoth: 3.45 lbs | Texas Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in TX |
| Utah | Black BH: 3 lbs, 4 oz Channel: 32 lbs, 8 oz | Utah Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in UT |
| Vermont | Bullhead: 3 lbs, 6 oz Channel: 35 lbs, 14.7 oz | Vermont Fishing Records |
| Virginia | Blue: 143 lbs* Channel: 31 lbs, 8 oz Flathead: 68 lbs, 12 oz White: 7 lbs, 6 oz | Virginia Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in VA |
| Washington | Blue: 17.75 lbs Black BH: 1.81 lbs Brown BH: 11.04 lbs Yellow BH: 2.06 lbs Channel: 37.7 lbs Flathead: 22.8 lbs White: 19.85 lbs | Wash. Fishing Records Best Catfish Fishing in WA |
| West Virginia | Blue: 69.45 lbs Bullhead: 6.1 lbs Channel: 37.5 lbs Flathead: 70 lbs | WV Fishing Records |
| Wisconsin | Black BH: 5 lbs. 8 oz Brown BH: 4 lbs, 2 oz Yellow BH: 4 lbs, 5 oz Channel: 44 lbs Flathead: 74 lbs, 5.1 oz | Wisconsin Fishing Records |
| Wyoming | Black BH: 2.9 lbs Channel: 28.52 lbs Flathead: 22.46 lbs Stonecat: 0.35 lbs | Wyoming Fishing Records |
Editor’s note: The IGFA lists the freshwater species marked by an asterisk (*) as world records.
Saltwater Catfish Records
Several states with Gulf of Mexico coastlines also keep records for two common species of saltwater catfish, which typically inhabit shallow coastlines, bays and brackish areas.
While some anglers consider saltwater catfish to be a nuisance, they are still fun to catch as long as you avoid the sharp spines in their fins.
While both gafftopsail and hardhead catfish are found significantly farther north along the Atlantic coast, it’s typically the Gulf states that certify records for them.
The larger species is called the gafftopsail catfish, named for its extra-long fins, which also have poison that can inflict extra pain with a puncture. Anglers, who often call them gafftops, need to exercise plenty of caution in landing this species.
The IGFA lists a 10-pound gafftopsail catfish caught in Florida in 2007 as the word record, although Louisiana recognizes a gafftop weighing slightly over 11 pounds as its state record.
The other common saltwater species in America’s warmer ocean waters is the hardhead catfish, also known as a seacat.
Many of the hardheads you’ll catch are about a pound or less, with three pounds being a relative giant for this species. They also have sharp spines.
As with the gafftops, there is some inconsistency between the world and state records for hardhead catfish.
The IGFA lists the all-tackle record hardhead catfish as a 4-pound, 11-ounce specimen caught in Florida in 2014. However, Florida’s own state records list the 4.5-pounder in the chart below.
Both species are easily (often too easily) caught with bait, including cut fish and shellfish from piers and other shallow areas.
| STATE | SPECIES: WEIGHT | RESOURCES |
| Alabama | Gafftopsail: 12 lbs, 7.4 oz Hardhead: 3 lbs, 3 oz | Alabama Fishing Records |
| Florida | Gafftopsail: 9.0 lbs Hardhead: 4.50 lbs | Florida Fishing Records |
| Louisiana | Gafftopsail: 11.06 lbs Hardhead: No record | Louisiana Fishing Records |
| Mississippi | Gafftopsail: 9 lbs, 9.92 oz Hardhead: 3 lbs, 0.32 oz | Mississippi Fishing Records |
| Texas | Gafftopsail: 13.33 lbs Hardhead: 4.06 lbs | Texas Fishing Records |
Catch More Catfish
Now that you know where the big ones are, how about checking out the simple fishing techniques, tackle and tips that catch more catfish.