# What type of catfish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Utah Fishing General\ **Created:** [May 17, 2018, 3:29pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/what-type-of-catfish/300781 "2018-05-17T15:29:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@Kent](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Kent)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 3:29pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/what-type-of-catfish/300781/1 "2018-05-17T15:29:24Z")
My fishing partner caught this catfish on The Snake River yesterday. It sort of looks like a channel cat but not quite right. Is it a channel cat or something else? ---
**Author:** ![ice\_sled](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@ice\_sled](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/ice_sled)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/what-type-of-catfish/300781/2 "2018-05-17T16:06:04Z")
Channel ---
**Author:** ![wiperhunter2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3d9bf3/32.png) [@wiperhunter2](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/wiperhunter2)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/what-type-of-catfish/300781/3 "2018-05-17T19:07:25Z")
Could be a blue, looked it up on Google and they are in the Snake, just not sure if they are in that section. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Dizzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Joe\_Dizzy](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Joe_Dizzy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/what-type-of-catfish/300781/4 "2018-05-17T19:24:46Z")
Nearly 100% positive its a channel cat. That profile pic clearly showing the anal fin is very telling (shape, color, ray count). ---
**Author:** ![doggonefishin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecd19e/32.png) [@doggonefishin](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/doggonefishin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/what-type-of-catfish/300781/5 "2018-05-17T20:59:50Z")
Pretty sure it is just a channel cat, but if you want to be sure, count the number of rays on the anal fin. Channel cats have a certain number and blues always exceed that. (I’m too lazy to look it up and I’m at work. If memory serves ,channel cats have 25-29 anal fin rays and blues always exceed thirty something) What I really want to see are pics of your “dink” 8 footers. It wasn’t too long ago that you’d always lament that you couldn’t get one over 8 ft. [;)] P:S My unofficial count was 26 rays. ---
**Author:** ![Tin-Can](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cab0a1/32.png) [@Tin-Can](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Tin-Can)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/what-type-of-catfish/300781/6 "2018-05-17T22:32:49Z")
Kent, I will have to agree with the other answers. A Channel Cat. They are probably getting into the spawn and getting darker. ---
**Author:** ![gmwahl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f4b2a3/32.png) [@gmwahl](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/gmwahl)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/what-type-of-catfish/300781/7 "2018-05-18T02:54:32Z")
Definitely a channel cat. I’ve caught tons of blues in other states and in that size they are almost always more silvery and slightly bluish, but the real tell tale is the anal fin. On a blue it goes almost all the way to the tail fin and is fairly straight along the bottom edge and on a channel cat the anal fin is slightly more rounded or curved along the bottom edge. Also, if I remember correctly, the blue cat has over thirty rays on its anal fin and the channel cat always has less than thirty. Another thing to look for is spots…only he channel cats MAY have them, but I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen ANY spots on a blue cat Mike