A 60 pound Blue catfish caught on 8-pound test line was a world record for that line class for many years. Although natural reproduction of Channel catfish does occur in Bull Shoals and Norfork, it is severely limited by predation of bass on young catfish. The male catfish makes a nest in a crevice, small cave, hollow log, etc., and entices a female in, spawns with her, then runs her off. Catfish fry swim in a tight ball, which reforms quickly after a predator takes a mouthful until, in clear water, few survive. We have only rarely seen evidence of Blue catfish reproduction in the lakes.
Channel catfish are omnivorous generally feeding along the bottom.
They will eat crayfish, fish, amphibians, terrestrial insects, and decaying matter. We once noticed several which were full of persimmons. Blue catfish are a more aggressive fish predator that generally inhabits the open water. They mainly eat shad. One of our biologists has observed zebra mussels in the stomachs of Blue catfish on the Arkansas River.