Flathead Catfish
Pylodictis olivaris
A large, solitary predator with a broad flattened head and protruding lower jaw, the flathead catfish hunts live prey in deep holes and around submerged timber. Mottled yellow-brown in color, it grows to trophy sizes in Alabama's rivers and reservoirs and is a favorite target of nighttime bank anglers.
Deep holes, logjams, and submerged timber in warm rivers and reservoirs.
Flathead Catfish Habitat & Size
Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) is associated with river water, lake water, and reservoir water in the species record. Habitat information describes the species, not permission to fish for it. The recorded average size is approximately 25 inches; individual sizes vary.
Recorded Waters for Flathead Catfish
FishFinder links Flathead Catfish to water records in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. These associations may reflect documented presence, seasonal runs, or historical stocking, not angler catch reports or current abundance. Read the linked water guides and source notes for evidence dates and reaches.
Flathead Catfish Fishing Regulations & Limits
A recorded association does not establish that targeting or retaining Flathead Catfish is permitted. Confirm current species protections, seasonal and emergency closures, reach-specific rules, gear restrictions, bag and size limits with the responsible fisheries authority before fishing. A fishing license does not override these restrictions. FishFinder's regulation records may be incomplete; missing rules do not mean unrestricted fishing.
Related Water Guides for Flathead Catfish
Explore these FishFinder water guides for places where Flathead Catfish is recorded:
- Mississippi River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Guntersville — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Wheeler Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Wilson Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Pickwick Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Weiss Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lay Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Logan Martin Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Neely Henry Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Walter F. George Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Alabama River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Mobile-Tensaw Delta — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Havasu — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Colorado River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Theodore Roosevelt Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Apache Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Bartlett Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Pleasant — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Alamo Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Dardanelle — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Chicot — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Arkansas River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lower Mississippi River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Colorado River (California) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Nanticoke River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Delaware River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Seminole — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Apalachicola River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Coosa River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Savannah River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Altamaha River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Ohio River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Wabash River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Illinois River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Fox Chain O'Lakes — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Powerton Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Carlyle Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Ohio River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Wabash River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- White River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Monroe Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Patoka Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Mississinewa Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Rathbun — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Saylorville Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Red Rock — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Coralville Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Mississippi River (Iowa Waters) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Missouri River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Big Sioux River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Cedar River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Des Moines River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Iowa River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Turkey River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Milford Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Wilson Reservoir (Kansas) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Cheney Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Clinton Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Perry Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- El Dorado Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Kanopolis Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Glen Elder Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Tuttle Creek Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Melvern Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Cedar Bluff Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Council Grove Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Marion Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Pomona Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Hillsdale Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Big Hill Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- John Redmond Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lovewell Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Kansas River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Arkansas River (Kansas) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Kentucky Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Barkley — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Cumberland — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Dale Hollow Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Barren River Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Cave Run Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Green River Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Taylorsville Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Nolin River Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Rough River Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Laurel River Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Grayson Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Buckhorn Lake (Kentucky) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Dewey Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Fishtrap Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Yatesville Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Herrington Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Cumberland River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Kentucky River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Green River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Toledo Bend Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Caddo Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Sabine River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Poverty Point Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- False River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Eagle Lake (Louisiana) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- John K. Kelly-Grand Bayou Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Bussey Brake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- D'Arbonne Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Atchafalaya Basin — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lac des Allemands — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Verret — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Bistineau — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Cross Lake (Louisiana) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Claiborne — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Chicot Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Black Lake (Louisiana) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Red River (Louisiana) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Ouachita River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Henderson Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- St. Croix River (Minnesota) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Pepin — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Big Stone Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Ross Barnett Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Grenada Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Sardis Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Enid Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Arkabutla Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Pickwick Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Eagle Lake (Mississippi) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Washington — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Moon Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Pascagoula River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake of the Ozarks — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Harry S. Truman Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Table Rock Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Bull Shoals Lake (Missouri) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Norfork Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Stockton Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Pomme de Terre Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Mark Twain Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Smithville Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Wappapello Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Meramec River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Gasconade River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Mississippi River (Pools 20-26) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Harlan County Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Sherman Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Elwood Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Branched Oak Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lewis and Clark Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Missouri River (Nebraska Waters) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Johnson Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Maloney — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Cape Fear River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- New River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Maumee River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Ohio River (Ohio) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Hoover Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Texoma — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Keystone Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Arkansas River (Oklahoma) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Kiamichi River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lower Red River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Susquehanna River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Marion — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Moultrie — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Congaree River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Great Pee Dee River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Edisto River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Watts Bar Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Sam Rayburn Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Conroe — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Livingston — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Trinity River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Choke Canyon Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Tawakoni — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Richland Chambers Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Falcon International Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Amistad — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Whitney — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Possum Kingdom Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Smith Mountain Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Buggs Island Lake (Kerr Reservoir) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Claytor Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Leesville Reservoir — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- James River (Virginia) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Staunton River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Ohio River (West Virginia) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Kanawha River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- New River (West Virginia) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Monongahela River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Bluestone Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Winnebago — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Wolf River (Wisconsin) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lower Fox River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Mississippi River (Wisconsin-Minnesota Boundary) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- St. Croix River (Wisconsin) — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Wisconsin River — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Petenwell — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Castle Rock Lake — recorded Flathead Catfish association
- Lake Koshkonong — recorded Flathead Catfish association
Equipment planning for Flathead Catfish
We have not selected a species-specific affiliate setup for this guide. First establish whether targeting is permitted at your destination; no tackle recommendation should be inferred from a species record.
Equipment guidance is not permission to fish. Confirm the exact water, date, species, method and current official rules first. A closed season prohibits targeting, even with release. Recorded fish presence does not establish an open fishery.
- Check permitted methods, bait and hook restrictions before choosing tackle. Match rod, line and lure ratings to the lawful method and conditions, rather than buying by species name alone.
- Plan weather protection, drinking water and a way to call for help. For boat trips, confirm required flotation and safety equipment with the responsible boating authority.
- Read the habitat and water-specific source notes in this guide, then confirm an appropriate lawful method with the local fisheries authority before choosing equipment. Do not assume a general freshwater combo suits every species or water.
This is an editorial planning checklist, not hands-on product testing. Use equipment you already own when suitable. The gear directory contains affiliate links; any product suggestions below have their own disclosure. Retailer region, availability and Canadian shipping are not guaranteed.
Browse the gear directory · Find official fishing-rule sources · Affiliate disclosure
Flathead Catfish Regulations
Review available regulation records and confirm whether fishing for Flathead Catfish is permitted with the responsible fisheries authority:
Frequently Asked Questions
What water types are associated with Flathead Catfish?
The species record associates Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) with river water, lake water, and reservoir water. Habitat information is not evidence of current abundance or permission to target the species.
How big does Flathead Catfish get?
The recorded average size for Flathead Catfish is approximately 25 inches. Individual sizes vary; this average is not a maximum size or a legal retention limit.
Where does FishFinder record water associations for Flathead Catfish?
FishFinder links Flathead Catfish to water records in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. These associations may reflect documented presence, seasonal runs, or historical stocking, not angler catch reports. Check the linked water guides and source notes for evidence dates and reaches; a listing does not guarantee current presence or legal fishing opportunity.
Does a listing or fishing license permit fishing for Flathead Catfish?
No. A listing records an association, not permission to target or retain Flathead Catfish. License requirements and exemptions vary. Confirm current species protections, seasonal and emergency closures, reach-specific rules, gear restrictions, bag and size limits with the responsible fisheries authority. A license does not override restrictions, and missing FishFinder regulation records do not mean unrestricted fishing.