If you grow up a Southern angler, you fall in love early with catfish -- it's hard not to. For many, the farm-pond channel cat is the first fish ever taken. Biting willingly and often, it's the perfect kids' fish.

We never fall completely out of love with the catfish, even when we "graduate" to other, more trendy species. We can't. It tastes too good.

As time progresses, many of us see other virtues in this fish of our youth -- attributes that go beyond ease of catching and the delight of the deep-fried fillet. You can fish for it forever and not tire of it. It's just plain fun at the end of a line, even if it'll never possess the grace of a rising rainbow trout or the majesty of a leaping tarpon.

The catfish is other things as well -- like American history: an early settler sitting on a riverbank seeking the full stringer that will feed his family. And American literature: Huck and Jim fishing trotlines in the Mississippi from the banks of Jacksons Island. It anchors its own sector of Southern social ritual: two or more good ol' boys gathered for a fish fry, a time-honored rite less appreciated or understood by our Northern neighbors than it might perhaps be.

Yep -- catfish and catfishing are vital components of our heritage. Let's have a brief look at them as they pertain to Georgia and the summertime pursuit of "Mr. Whiskers." We'll begin with the Big Three.

BLUE CATFISH
The blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) is a pale-hued, bluish-colored species with a deeply forked tail and white chin barbels. The upper and lower jaws meet evenly, or the upper jaw may project slightly beyond the lower jaw.

This catfish prefers riverine and reservoir habitats and is rarely encountered in smaller bodies of water. Larger blue cats are usually found in tailwaters below dams, where currents are swift and bottoms consist primarily of sand, gravel and rock. They're also frequently found near and in submerged treetops.

As is the case with most other catfish, the species is an opportunistic feeder, consuming live and dead fishes as well as many varieties of aquatic invertebrates.

In Georgia, the blue catfish grows quite large, though most individuals taken weigh well under 10 pounds. The state record is 62 pounds.

Blue catfish very much resemble channel cats in appearance, but never have spots on their bodies. Large blues and channels catfish can be difficult to differentiate at first glance, since big channel cats may also lack spots.

"Distinguishing large blue cats from big channel cats can be difficult," agreed Georgia Wildlife Resources Division fisheries biologist Kevin Dalmier, "but one distinguishing feature of blue catfish that is easy to spot is that the outer margin of the long anal fin is straight, not rounded as in other catfish species."

FLATHEAD CATFISH
The flathead catfish (Pylodictis divaris) is the only large catfish in Georgia with a head flattened between the eyes, a projecting lower jaw and recurved tooth patches on either side of the upper jaw. The back and sides of the body and fins are mottled with black, white, olive, and sometimes pale yellow.