Abstract:
Catfish fall into two categories, freshwater and saltwater. In his article Raver discusses only freshwater catfish; examines misconceptions about catfish; and explains why anglers don't like this fish. The more abundant catfish in the state are the flathead, blue, channel, white, brown bullhead, and yellow bullhead. The flathead, native to a few western North Carolina river systems, is the largest, with a maximum weight of over one hundred pounds. The group of catfish known as madtoms are the smallest, with few species exceeding six inches.