Channel Catfish in Oregon
Oregon limits and places to find channel catfish.
- no bag capbag
- 36 lb 8 ozrecord
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The Oregon picture for channel catfish
In the 2026 booklet, channel catfish fall under the line headed "Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, Other Sunfish, Walleye, Yellow Perch, Striped Bass, Sucker, No.". In the Northwest Zone that row says: No limit.
The heaviest on the ODFW list weighed 36 lb 8 oz; Boone Haddock caught it in 1980 on McKay Reservoir. Of 24 Oregon pages naming it, Lake Umatilla, Lake Wallula and Lake Bonneville come first.
For the channel catfish herePiscifun Chaos XS round baitcaster36% OFFSale $57.99 Zone rows that govern Oregon channel catfish
| Zone | Row as printed | Bag and size | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Zone | Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, Other Sunfish, Walleye, Yellow P. | No limit. | Lakes: Open all year. Streams: (including tidewaters and bays): Open during trout, salmon or steelhead seasons, except tidewater. |
| Southwest Zone | Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, Other Sunfish, Walleye, Yellow P. | No limit. | Lakes: Open all year. Streams (including tidewaters and bays): Open during trout, salmon or steelhead seasons. |
| Willamette Zone | Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, Other Sunfish, Walleye, Yellow P. | No limit, unless noted under Exceptions. | Lakes: Open all year. Streams: Open during trout, salmon or steelhead seasons, except mainstem Willamette River and sloughs and. |
| Central Zone | Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, Other Sunfish, Walleye, Yellow P. | No limit. | Lakes: Open all year. Streams: Open during trout, salmon or steelhead seasons only, except portions of Columbia River tributaries. |
| Northeast Zone | Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, Other Sunfish, Walleye, Yellow P. | No limit. | Lakes: Open all year. Streams: Open during trout, salmon or steelhead seasons only, except portions of Columbia River tributaries. |
| Southeast Zone | Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, Other Sunfish, Walleye, and Yell. | No limit. | Lakes and Reservoirs: Open all year. Streams: Open during trout season. |
| Snake River Zone | Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, Other Sunfish, Walleye, Yellow P. | No limit. | Open all year. |
| Columbia River Zone | Bass, Striped Bass, Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, other Sunfis. | No limit. | Open all year. |
Limits as printed in the 2026 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations (ODFW, eRegulations edition) (eRegulations), read November 2, 2026.
Record channel catfish on the ODFW list
| Listed as | Weight | Angler | Water | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catfish, Channel | 36 lb 8 oz | Boone Haddock | McKay Reservoir | 1980 |
Oregon record fish as listed by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (record fish article, dated March 4, 2026), read November 2, 2026.
Lakes, streams and estuaries mapped with channel catfish
Oregon lakes listing channel catfish
- Lake Umatilla50,097 acres
- Lake Wallula32,492 acres
- Lake Bonneville19,452 acres
- Brownlee Reservoir13,880 acres
- Lake Owyhee11,112 acres
- Lake Celilo8,763 acres
- Warm Springs Reservoir4,136 acres
- Hells Canyon Reservoir2,301 acres
- McKay Reservoir1,174 acres
- Oxbow Reservoir1,106 acres
- Emigrant Lake807 acres
- Bully Creek Reservoir611 acres
- Commonwealth Lake6 acres
Oregon rivers listing channel catfish
- Willamette RiverMultnomah County
- Columbia RiverClatsop County
- John Day RiverWheeler County
- Tualatin RiverClackamas County
- Snake RiverUmatilla County
- Owyhee RiverMalheur County
- Umatilla RiverUmatilla County
- Yamhill RiverYamhill County
- Calapooia RiverLinn County
- Gilbert RiverColumbia County
- Malheur RiverMalheur County
ODFW Fish Habitat Distribution layers (ODFW ArcGIS), read November 2, 2026; a mapped species is habitat use ODFW records, not a catch report.
More Oregon species near channel catfish
- Black Crappiefreshwater
- Bluegillfreshwater
- Bullhead Catfishfreshwater
- Flathead Catfishfreshwater
- Green Sunfishfreshwater
- Hybrid White Bassfreshwater
- Largemouth Bassfreshwater
- Pumpkinseed Sunfishfreshwater
- Redear Sunfishfreshwater
- Sacramento Perchfreshwater
- White Catfishfreshwater
Photographs from the shoreline near Channel Catfish
Photo: Bonnie Moreland, Public domain
Photo: Rick Obst, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Bonnie Moreland, Public domain
Photo: Bonnie Moreland, Public domain
channel catfish in Oregon: common questions
What is the Oregon bag limit for channel catfish?
Northwest Zone row: No limit. Each zone has its own line.
What is the Oregon record channel catfish?
36 lb 8 oz, by Boone Haddock in 1980, from McKay Reservoir.
What Oregon water should I try for channel catfish?
Look at Lake Umatilla, Lake Wallula and Lake Bonneville; 24 pages in all.
Is the Oregon channel catfish rule the same everywhere?
No booklet exception names it.
Which Oregon dates matter for channel catfish?
Northwest Zone: Lakes: Open all year. Streams: (including tidewaters and bays): Open during trout, salmon or steelhead seasons, except tidewater areas of Columbia. Updates during the year go up on MyODFW.
What paperwork does ODFW want before I chase channel catfish?
An Oregon angling license ($50 resident, $138 nonresident for 2026) covers anglers 12 and older; salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and halibut go on a Combined Angling Tag ($69 resident).
Who certifies an Oregon channel catfish record?
Claims go to ODFW, which publishes the record list in its record fish article.
What else is channel catfish called in Oregon?
ODFW lists it as Catfish, Channel and Channel Catfish.
Look for channel catfish near your Oregon base
Each Oregon water above lists its OSMB launches and zone rows.