Channel Catfish in Kentucky
Statewide row, special entries and regulated waters for channel catfish.
- 1daily
- 32.00 lbsstate record
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Where Channel Catfish stand in Kentucky
Unless a water has its own entry, channel catfish follow the "Channel Catfish 28" and above" line of the guide: daily limit 1, possession 2, minimum size 28". It turns up in 14 special-regulation entries; Barren River Lake is one.
It appears in the KDFWR regulation table of 58 waters on this site, led by Barren River Lake, Taylorsville Lake and Yatesville Lake. The state mark is 32.00 lbs, taken at Ohio River.
2026 Kentucky Fishing & Boating Guide (Regulations Summary March 2026 to February 2027, updated September 2026, p. 5; KDFWR PDF), read November 10, 2026.
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| Row | Daily | Possession | Minimum size | Footnote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel Catfish 28" and above | 1 | 2 | 28" | – |
| Channel Catfish below 28" | none | none | none | – |
Two times the daily limit is the possession cap; culling is fine except with trout.
2026 Kentucky Fishing & Boating Guide (Regulations Summary March 2026 to February 2027, updated September 2026, p. 5; KDFWR PDF), read November 10, 2026.
Kentucky waters with their own channel catfish rule
| Water as printed | County | Rule lines naming it |
|---|---|---|
| Barren River Lake | Blue and Channel Catfish: 15-fish aggregate daily limit, only 1 fish may be longer than 25 inches. | |
| Carr Creek Lake | Blue and Channel Catfish: 15-fish aggregate daily limit, only 1 fish may be longer than 25 inches. | |
| Dewey Lake | Blue and Channel Catfish: 15-fish aggregate daily limit, only 1 fish may be longer than 25 inches. | |
| Doe Run Lake | Kenton County | Channel Catfish: Four fish daily limit. |
| Fishtrap Lake | Blue and Channel Catfish: 15-fish aggregate daily limit, only 1 fish in the daily limit may be longer than 25 inches. | |
| General Butler State Park Lake | Carroll County | Channel Catfish: 4 fish daily limit. |
| Golden Pond (Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area) | Channel Catfish: 15-inch minimum size limit, 5-fish daily limit. | |
| Lake Shelby | Shelby County | Channel Catfish: 4 fish daily limit. |
| Lincoln Homestead State Park Lake | Washington County | Channel Catfish: 4 fish daily limit. |
| New Haven Optimist Lake | Nelson County | Channel Catfish: 4 fish daily limit. |
| Rockcastle River WMA | Pulaski County | Catfish: 4-fish daily limit. |
| Taylorsville Lake | Blue and Channel Catfish: 15-fish aggregate daily limit, only 1 fish may be longer than 25 inches. | |
| Willisburg Park Pond | Washington County | Channel Catfish: 4-fish daily limit. |
| Yatesville Lake | Blue and Channel Catfish: 15-fish daily limit in aggregate, only one fish may be longer than 25 inches. |
2026 Kentucky Fishing & Boating Guide (Regulations Summary March 2026 to February 2027, updated September 2026, p. 7-12; KDFWR PDF), read November 10, 2026.
Biggest channel catfish on the KDFWR list
| KDFWR listing | Weight | Water | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel Catfish | 32.00 lbs | Ohio River | May 26, 2004 |
Kentucky state record fish as listed by KDFWR (record list), read November 10, 2026.
Kentucky pages that carry channel catfish
Every water listed has a KDFWR table row for this fish; the table sets rules and says nothing of numbers.
Lakes whose table names channel catfish
- Barren River Lake9,674 acres
- Taylorsville Lake3,014 acres
- Yatesville Lake2,171 acres
- Fishtrap Lake1,038 acres
- Dewey Lake961 acres
- Carr Creek Lake521 acres
- Shelby Lake64 acres
- Doe Run Lake49 acres
- Jacobson Park Lake46 acres
- Spurlington Lake33 acres
- Jesse W. Thornton Lake29 acres
- General Butler State Park Lake28 acres
- Camp Ernst Lake25 acres
- Carlson Lake14 acres
- Maysville-Mason County Rec. Lake12 acres
- Flemingsburg Old Reservoir11 acres
- Brickyard Pond10 acres
- Logan Hubble Park Lake9.2 acres
- Lincoln Homestead Lake7.6 acres
- Alexandria Community Park Lake7.2 acres
- Lake Montgomery6.2 acres
- Kentucky Horse Parkabout 5.6 acres of mapped outline
- Whitehall Park Lake5.6 acres
- Waymond Morris Park5 acres
Rivers and tailwaters naming channel catfish
- Ohio River (West)Ballard County and 4 other counties
- Ohio River (Central)Breckinridge County and 5 other counties
- Ohio River (Louisville)Hardin County and 3 other counties
- Ohio River (Below Cincinnati)Boone County and 2 other counties
- Ohio River (Above Cincinnati)Bracken County and 2 other counties
- Ohio River (East)Boyd County and 2 other counties
KDFWR fishing waterbody list (app.fw.ky.gov), read November 10, 2026.
Photo of Barren River Lake: LouisvilleUSACE, CC BY 2.0
Channel Catfish in Kentucky: the asks we hear
What is the Kentucky creel figure for channel catfish per angler?
The statewide row reads daily limit 1, possession 2, minimum size 28".
Do some Kentucky waters change the channel catfish rule?
Yes, 14 guide entries do, Barren River Lake among them.
Where was the record channel catfish caught in Kentucky?
KDFWR prints 32.00 lbs, Ohio River, May 26, 2004.
Which Kentucky water pages carry channel catfish in their rule table?
Barren River Lake, Taylorsville Lake and Yatesville Lake, plus others: 58 pages.
Does Kentucky shield channel catfish from harvest?
It is absent from the release list.
Does a visiting angler after channel catfish need a Kentucky license?
Anglers 16 and older need a Kentucky fishing license; the 2026 guide prints $24.31 for the resident annual license and $58.14 for nonresidents.
How does KDFWR accept a record channel catfish?
Rod and reel or pole and line only, caught in Kentucky, 0.10 pound minimum: those are the KDFWR program terms.
How many channel catfish may I have at home in Kentucky?
Possession is twice the daily limit for any fish with a daily limit, not counting fish already processed.
Chase channel catfish across the Bluegrass
The linked pages put KDFWR ramps, a map and the quoted rules side by side.