Catfish are bottom-dwelling fish, and their location within a lake is rarely static. These omnivorous predators use highly developed senses of taste and smell to navigate and feed in murky conditions. The species, time of day, and the current season all influence where a catfish positions itself in the water column and which habitat features it chooses to inhabit.
Preferred Physical Structure and Hiding Spots
Catfish are strongly associated with physical structures in lakes that provide security, relief from current, and ambush points for feeding. These structures are often located along the main lake basin or the former river channel that runs through the reservoir. Fallen trees, known as logjams or brush piles, are highly attractive as they offer complex cover for both the fish and their prey.
Different species show distinct preferences for the type of cover they use. Flathead catfish, which are predatory and solitary, exhibit a strong preference for the heaviest, most secluded cover, such as large sunken timber, heavy root masses, or deep scour holes under undercut banks. They typically use these areas as their daytime lair, emerging only after dark to hunt. Channel catfish, in contrast, are more generalist and often relate to a wider variety of structure, including submerged roadbeds, bridge pilings, and rock rubble.
Blue catfish are the most migratory of the three major species. While they use structure, they are often found near deep scour holes or along the edges of the main lake channel, especially in large reservoirs. Man-made structures like riprap—the large rocks used to stabilize shorelines or dam faces—also offer excellent cover for all three species, providing crevices and dark spaces to rest during daylight hours.
Environmental Factors: Depth, Temperature, and Light
Catfish possess an adaptation to light that heavily influences their daily movement patterns, leading to nocturnal feeding habits. They are generally sensitive to bright sunlight, which often pushes them into deeper water or areas with high turbidity (murky water) during the day. This light avoidance is a major reason they move into shallow feeding flats only after the sun has set.
In the summer, the relationship between depth and temperature becomes regulated by a phenomenon called stratification, where a distinct layer of rapidly cooling water, the thermocline, forms between the warm surface water and the cold bottom water. This stratification is often accompanied by a dramatic drop in dissolved oxygen levels below the thermocline as the summer progresses. Catfish must position themselves in the water column where the temperature is comfortable and the dissolved oxygen concentration is sufficient, often finding themselves just above or within the thermocline layer.
If a lake is deep enough to stratify, the area below the oxygen-depleted zone becomes uninhabitable for fish. Therefore, during the warmest months, catfish are constrained to a specific depth range that offers the best balance of oxygen and temperature. They may suspend in this zone over deep water, following schools of baitfish that are similarly restricted to the oxygenated water.
Seasonal Migration and Spawning Locations
Catfish movement throughout the year is highly predictable, driven primarily by water temperature and leading to distinct seasonal migrations. In the spring, as the water begins to warm into the 50-to-60-degree Fahrenheit range, catfish move out of their deep wintering holes and into shallower, warming flats and creek arms to feed aggressively. This movement is the first major migration of the year, driven by a rising metabolism.
The breeding season begins when water temperatures reach the mid-70s, typically early summer. Catfish are cavity nesters, a behavior that dictates their location during the spawn. The male seeks out dark, secluded spaces protected from currents and predators, such as hollow logs, root wads, crevices in riprap, or deep washouts beneath undercut banks. They remain near these nests, guarding the eggs and young, and feed less during this period, causing a temporary dip in catch rates.
Fall triggers a second major feeding migration as water temperatures drop into the 60s. Catfish feed heavily to build up fat reserves for winter, following baitfish into shallower areas before the lake water cools further. The subsequent autumn cooling can lead to “turnover” in stratified lakes, where the water mixes completely, stabilizing oxygen levels throughout the water column.
Once winter arrives and water temperatures drop below 50 degrees, catfish congregate in the deepest, most stable holes, river channels, or humps in the main lake basin. They remain lethargic and tightly grouped in these wintering areas, moving minimally until the spring warming cycle begins.