Photo by Tom Evans.

Catfish get no respect. But if you want to pick a fight that'll have your biceps bulging as you begin to wonder who really has hold of whom, then give catfish their due. Peach State cats grow big and mean. If you want to take on truly huge fish in Georgia, catfish are the best game in town short of what you'd tangle with on a trip to the salty brine. Georgia is blessed with many good catfish holes, so let's look at what the state has to offer.

Before you can beat your opponent, you have to know what it is. Three catfish species attract the most interest from Georgia anglers -- blue, flathead, and channel cats.

THE FISH
Perhaps the most popular of these is the channel catfish. Channel cats are easily recognizable by their deeply forked tail and dark spots on the body. Trophy-sized channel catfish's spots are often faint or absent, and distinguishing on first glance a monster channel cat from a big blue cat is a job that can stymie even an expert. The best way to distinguish a large blue from a large channel is the anal fin. Blue cats have a razor-straight anal fin, and on a channel cat, the fin's shape is slightly rounded.

Channel catfish can be caught from nearly any river or lake throughout Georgia. The fish are not picky eaters and attempt to make a meal of nearly anything they can fit in their mouths, dead or alive. Despite their questionable culinary habits, the flesh of channel catfish is delectable, and a meal of deep-fried channel cat fillets and hush puppies is a Dixie tradition.

Although the long-standing state record for channel cats is 44 pounds, 12 ounces stories always are circulating of much larger fish caught using commercial fishing methods. Most channel catfish, however, weigh less than 10 pounds.

Although not as widespread as the channel catfish, flatheads are found many places in Georgia. Especially good for this species are the large rivers and reservoirs in the northwest corner of the state, along with the Altamaha and Flint River systems in South Georgia. Flatheads are easily identified by their brown and yellow coloration, and a big, wide head that's flat enough to set your favorite cold beverage on. The tail of the flathead catfish is square or only slightly notched, and its lower lip sticks out beyond the upper lip in a permanent pout.

Unlike channel catfish, flatheads like the thrill of the chase and prefer their supper to be alive and swimming when they pounce on it. The Georgia flathead catfish state record stands at 67 pounds, 8 ounces and was caught from the Altamaha River.

Although flatheads are commonly thought of as strictly a river fish, Georgia's large reservoirs can hold some monster specimens, and the anglers who devote some time to figuring out how to catch flatheads from big water can have some tremendous fishing all to themselves. Surprisingly, large flatheads can also be found in larger creeks and small rivers in their range, especially near where these feeder streams dump into a large lake or river.

The final member of the catfish "big three" is the blue catfish. Blue cats are creatures of big water. Like the flathead, blue cats prefer their food to be alive and kicking when they eat it, but they won't turn up their nose at a piece of cut bait either.

Blue cats are one of the largest catfish species, and fish in the 100-pound range are not unheard of, although in Georgia the state record stands at 67 pounds, 9 ounces.