I'm no cat expert by a long shot, but everything I've learned about Texas Catfish species, tells me there is Blue, Channel, Flathead and Bullheads. But I've had conversations with anglers and even read posts online referring to "Yellow Cats" and "Mud Cats". I don't know what a mud cat is, but I always thought "Yellow Cats" was just another term for a Flathead.

Could someone set me straight? Thanks.

I was born and raised in Texas and the only cats I know of are Blues, Channels, Yellows and Bullheads. Yes Yellow Cats and Flatheads are the same. Never heard of Mud Cats. Back in the 70s there was a photo in one of the local papers talking about walking catfish in the area but never heard anymore about it and have never seen one, not sure if the paper knew what they were talking about.

Some nicknames for flatheads are yellowcat and mudcat. I always though channel cat was a nickname for blue catfish !?!? I could be wrong though.

Here you go http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/water/aquaticspecies/inland.phtml

i have heard bullheads called mudcats ... growing up everybody i knew called bullheads polywogs ... i never knew a pollywog was a tadpole 'til after i was grown

Yellow cats are flatheads and mudcat is a term for bullheads. Both fish have an unforked tail so the smaller ones sometimes get confused.

Channel cat and blues are 2 different fish.

'mudcat' usually refers to bullheads - we have black & brown bullhead in TX, and neither species gets to be more than about a foot long or so (always some exceptions).

'yellow cat' usually is in reference to flatheads. They're also called apaloosa cats, spotted cats, shovelhead cats and plenty of other local or regional names. They're ugly, with an extended lower jaw & their tail is NOT forked.

Blues & channels look similar at smaller sizes, but they are 2 separate species. Both have forked tails & the channel cat tends to have spots and a humped back. The blue cat is ... well, blue ... or silverish or gray.

Hope this helps.

Went to TPW website and this is how they have the catfish in Texas listed.

Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus)- other names are Channel Cat, Hump-back Blue

Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)- other names are Willow Cat, Forked-tail Cat, Fiddler, Spotted Cat, Lady Cat

Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris)- other names are Yellow Cat, Opelousa Cat, Pied Cat, Mississippi Cat, Mud Cat, Shovelhead Cat

Black Bullhead (Ameiurus melas)- other names are Polliwog, Chucklehead Cat

Yellow Bullhead (Ameiurus natalis)- other names are Polliwog, Chucklehead Cat

I am gonna try and use chucklehead cat in my conversations everyday.

Couldn't have been written by someone from Texas! I've never heard blues called channels and never, ever call a yellercat a mudcat.....NEVER!

i started a thread about this in march...and the info was incredible..flathead,yellow,appolusa the same fish.. channel catfish...blue catfish...yellow bullhead...brown bullhead..all proper names ..mudcat and pollywog is slang for whatever part of the country you are from.. btw i asked because the canal in my subdivision has a ton of yellow bullheads

mud cats are the cats that you want to catch yellow cats with. channel cats have spots or are bronze to dark brown to light silver, and blues have a huge hump, a yellow or appi, or shovelhead cat are ugly as hell and go ahead and throw them back...... and let me know where you caught it at so i can warm fellow anglers never to fish there

I had a "debate" about Yellow Cats not being Flathead Catfish the other day and the angler was so convincing, I had to start this thread! Thanks for the official word.

there was a kid at the ramp on lone star lake the other day, i asked if had done any good and he said he caught a bunch of "baby app's", he had a stringer full of black bullheads which i always heard called "_________ ____'s" (sorry cant say it on family channel)

My dad calls bullheads "chuckleheads".


http://www.identicards.com/allaboutfreshwaterfish/catfish.htm

That's a good site for anyone wanting to ID freshwater catfish in the United States.

I saw that as well. I think the "common names" part could mean they are commonly mis-identified. There are instances even on here where people have mis-identified catfish and other species.

For those bullheads ,they are all head and no [censored].

Zeek,
I'll argue you any day that a flathead is ugly!
They are, IMO, the most beautiful and interesting cat there is!

Wow I'm shocked to see this post. This will help.
Bullhead is a Mudcat or chug. Most are found in creeks.
Flatheads can be call Apps. In the texashill country or south Texas because of the water color they are more yellow but are still spotted like what we call App. Like the horse!TP&W show a yellow but it the same as a flat head.

Why wasnt the blue cat listed in the list for the other names for channels?
Channel was listed in the other names for the blues?

I never called them the same two different fish.....

I knew a guy who said that he and his dad used to catch "blue channel" catfish.

Also, I've head the term "mudcat" used for both bullheads and flatheads (by different people).

When I was growing up, I caught mudcats, yellows, and channels.

Once I went to school, I caught bullhead (black and yellow) flathead catfish, channel catfish, and blue catfish.

Never heard the name chucklehead though, but I like it.

I've known people who deserved that name.

i am not going to read all the post. so it may have been already said but i call a flathead a Yellowcat. Blue, and Channel. also i call Bullhead a mudcat.