Ron Cantrell has his hands full with this 51 1/4-inch flathead that he caught at El Reno Lake last summer. The 72 1/2-pound monster cat set a new state record for the species. Photo courtesy of Ron Cantrell

As a small boy, I learned to fish by tagging along with my dad while he fished a golf course pond a short walk from where we lived. I observed his prowess, and learned to emulate his tactics, and soon became addicted to the hobby that my father loved so much. When I was old enough to fish by myself, I found that the waterhole had a solid population of bass -- and incredible numbers of catfish.

I soon figured out that when I wanted to catch a lot of fish in any type of weather, I could go after the catfish. In the process, I found I could get my hook bit all day long by using either liver or the red wigglers I could dig out of my mother's flowerbeds.

Determinedly honing my youthful catfishing skills, I worked up to catching and releasing nearly 100 "yellow cats" (the name we used for the lake's flatheads) on most days. The diminutive venue wasn't a source of world-class specimens -- nothing I caught ever exceeded 5 pounds -- but nevertheless, I have fond memories of that little catfish hole.

Now, some 30 years later, that golf course pond is off limits to anglers, but I still try to make time each summer to go catch myself a mess of catfish. Happily, Oklahoma's catfish anglers are blessed with a wealth of lakes, rivers, creeks and ponds plenteously populated with catfish, and when conditions are right, these waters can fill creels with generous catches of the best-eating fish around.

"According to surveys," said the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation biologist Gene Gilliland, "if you lump all three catfish species together, they rate as the most popular choices for Sooner anglers."

However, since tactics and baits vary around the state, Sooner catfish chasers can score big by picking up on the following expert tips on the best spots statewide for taking home the makings of a feast of catfish filets.

CATFISH CHARACTERISTICS
Three species of catfish -- blues, channels and flatheads -- predominate in Oklahoma; spoonbill catfish and bullheads are present as well.

The blue catfish is easily identified. Colored a slate blue fading to white on the lower body, it has a semi-forked tail and a long anal fin. These catfish spawn when water temperatures reach 75 degrees and nest under logs, drift piles, or in large cavity-type structures. The blues' hearty diet consists solely of fish; their preference is for shad, minnows and sunfish. In some lakes, blues have grown to legendary proportions, some well over 100 pounds.

The channel catfish's colors vary from greenish brown to slate blue, fading to silver-white on the lower body, sometimes exhibiting a purple iridescence, sometimes randomly marked with dark speckles. Its tail is deeply forked, and, like a blue, it has a long, rounded anal fin. Channel cats spawn in rocky riprap areas when water temperatures reach 80 degrees.

According to Gilliland, channel catfish will eat almost anything. "Channel cats are very nonselective feeders and will eat a variety of food. However, most channel catfish over 6 or 7 pounds prefer live fish as their main diet."

Flathead catfish have a slender body with a wide, flat head -- hence their common name. They are yellowish-brown in color with a mottling on the upper body; their bellies range from white to yellow. Their tails do not fork, and their anal fin is short, lacking the elongation seen in that of the blue and the channel. Like channel catfish, flatheads prefer to spawn when waters warm to 80 degrees.

Catfish in general are tolerant of higher temperatures; their metabolisms speed up and they feed more actively when the water warms up. And the lips of all cats sport barbels, the slender, fleshy processes (as fish anatomists call them) that have garnered them the affectionate nickname "whiskerfish." These tentacle-like sensory organs serve to augment the senses of touch, taste and smell (especially the latter two) and aid in both food location and navigation.