I must admit to an affinity for catfish. As a child, I was drawn to the ugly ducklings of the fishing world, and frankly, I've never gotten over them. There's something intriguing about matching wits with a big ol' catfish -- something that gets me excited enough to head to my favorite lake each June to sack up a mess of the whiskered critters.

The range of the catfish spans the entire state, so that they thrive in abundance in most ponds, lakes, watersheds, rivers, and creeks furnished with suitable habitat. It's a fantastic month for catfishing -- so load up your gear and head to an aquatic venue near you.

In the space that follows, I'll run down a few of the top catfish holes in the state and advise you as to what to expect to find at each. But keep in mind that catfishing is addictive, and if you try it, these slick-skinned fish may move to the top of your list of angling priorities!

LAKE TEXOMA
For decades a great place for catching catfish, Lake Texoma sits in the south-central part of the state. It harbors several species of cat, but in the last few years, the huge blues caught there have aroused a lot of attention in particular. The current rod-and-reel state-record blue is a 98-pound specimen caught there by Billy Nabors. Texoma also yielded the unrestricted-class state-record -- a real brute, caught on a trotline by Dan Grider, that weighed 118 pounds, 8 ounces.

Texoma can also boast a former world-record blue cat -- although it was caught on the Texas side of the lake. Weighing 121 pounds, 8 ounces, the monster was taken on rod and reel by Cody Mullenix. Although now surpassed as the world record, that huge fish still stands as the Texas state record.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's lake biologist Paul Mauck, Texoma's blue catfish are more highly sought after now than in past years. "Anglers recognize that Texoma is an old lake that has some big catfish in it," he said. "However, most people do not realize that on average it takes 12 years for a blue cat to reach 10 pounds, because they grow very slow. Since it takes a long time to produce a really big blue cat, I advocate releasing big blue catfish and eating the smaller ones under 10 pounds."

According to Mauck, the best baits for Texoma's blue catfish are cut shad and live sunfish. He believes that anglers on the hunt for blue cats should target the upper regions of the lake that are fed by arms or rivers.

The lake limit is 15 channel or blue catfish in any combination, with a 12-inch minimum-size limit. There is no limit on flatheads.

GRAND LAKE
Another hotspot loaded with big blue catfish is Grand Lake, in the northeast part of the state. Catfish guide Jeff Williams, who catches some huge blue catfish there, knows Grand to be home to incredible numbers of larger-than-average blues. Like Mauck, Williams is a believer in photographing and releasing all blue cats over 10 pounds.