Walking catfish in Florida
Meet the species
Scientific name
Clarias batrachus
Overview
Prefers shallow and highly vegetated water bodies; sometimes abundant in small deeper ponds without normal complement of native fishes. They sometimes dominate small everglades pools during the dry season, but not necessarily to the exclusion of native fishes. They are much less abundant in large lakes and canals, and then usually only found in shallow vegetated areas; can live and even thrive in water with little to no oxygen since can breathe air; well-adapted to transient water bodies with muddy bottoms that partially dry up seasonally; occasionally found in road storm drainage systems from which they emerge during flooding events; habitat preferences tend to segregate this fish thereby reducing its overall effect on native species.
At a glance
- Regions
- Inland south, statewide freshwater
- Water
- Freshwater
When to fish
Season notes
No recreational fishing season calendar; non-game, imperiled, nonnative, or non-angling taxon.
Where to fish
Florida regions
Inland south & statewide freshwater
Water
Freshwater
Habitat
Prefers shallow and highly vegetated water bodies; sometimes abundant in small deeper ponds without normal complement of native fishes. They sometimes dominate small everglades pools during the dry season, but not necessarily to the exclusion of native fishes. They are much less abundant in large lakes and canals, and then usually only found in shallow vegetated areas; can live and even thrive in water with little to no oxygen since can breathe air; well-adapted to transient water bodies with muddy bottoms that partially dry up seasonally; occasionally found in road storm drainage systems from which they emerge during flooding events; habitat preferences tend to segregate this fish thereby reducing its overall effect on native species.
Videos
- How to bump/walk baits for beginners. A very affective technique for catching catfish. · Open original
- Easy old school technique for catching catfish in the big rivers · Open original
- FISH TRAP for catfish! ** invasive walking catfish** · Open original
- Video from tiktok.com (source title unavailable) · Open original
Sources
- Myfwc.com (2 pages)
Information comes from the supplied source datasets. Check linked FWC regulations for current rules.