The Largest Channel Catfish Ever Caught in Oklahoma

Can you imagine going out to catch some bass, only to find yourself with a record-breaking channel catfish instead? That’s exactly what happened to Gary Doak Jr. When he caught the largest channel catfish ever caught in Oklahoma.

If you want to learn more about channel catfish and the size of this impressive fish, continue reading below.

About Channel Catfish

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) live in all forms of freshwater, including ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers. Like most other catfish, they prefer to live at the bottom of any body of water.

They are opportunistic carnivores as well, meaning that channel catfish aren’t picky and will eat whatever comes near them and is easy to grab.

Channel catfish are generally grayish-blue on their sides. Their bellies are a lighter gray or white while their backs are black. However, these fish do carry recessive genes for albinism, so it’s not too unusual to see some with colors more representative of peaches.

Albinism is rarely seen in the wild, though, as it makes them more of a target to predators. You’re more likely to see these colors in channel catfish kept as pets in aquariums and ponds.

Average Channel Catfish Size

Mature channel catfish generally weigh somewhere around three pounds and are at least a foot long. But some of these fish, when given the right opportunities, get much bigger.

For example, the largest one on record weighed a whopping 58 pounds, found in South Carolina in 1964. The largest one on record in Oklahoma isn’t nearly as big, but it’s still pretty hefty.

Who Found the Largest Channel Catfish?

The largest channel catfish on record was caught with a rod and line. A man named Gary Doak Jr. caught the fish in 2005, on September 11th.

The catfish was found in Taft Lake in Muskogee County, six miles west of Muskogee and less than four miles south of Taft.

Gary caught his record-breaking channel catfish entirely by accident. He was on Taft Lake to search for bass, not catfish. In fact, until he pulled one onto his boat, Gary wasn’t even sure there were catfish that large in the lake.

The channel catfish was caught with plastic sunfish bait and a 16-pound test line. He spent a lot of the fight hoping his rod and reel would hold up to the challenge.

Convinced that the channel catfish he wrestled into his boat was pretty big, he took it straight to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to get it measured. The official who did the measurements confirmed it was the largest fish on state record.

Before Gary caught his prize, the largest channel catfish on record in Oklahoma was 34 pounds, 11 ounces found in Canton Lake by Barry Bond in May 2002.

The Size of the Largest Channel Catfish Ever Caught in Oklahoma

The largest channel catfish officially ever caught in Oklahoma weighed 35 pounds and 15 ounces. It measured 39 and 1/4 inches long and 26 and 1/4 inches in girth.

After taking a picture to show the size of the catfish, Gary decided he was going to have the fish mounted.