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Best channel catfish lakes in Georgia

19 Georgia waters hold channel catfish, 1 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Scent-driven bottom feeder. Holes, channels and inflows — best after dark.

1. Lake Lanier — 158 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
2. Lake Hartwell — 185 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
3. Clarks Hill Lake — 180 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
4. West Point Lake — 85 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
5. Richard B. Russell Lake — 167 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
6. Lake Sinclair — 90 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
7. Lake Oconee — 102 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
8. Lake Allatoona — 145 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
9. Walter F. George Lake — 100 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
10. Lake Seminole — 30 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
11. Lake Blackshear — 47 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
12. Altamaha River — 15 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish
13. Lake Nottely — 98 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
14. Lake Chatuge — 144 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie, Bluegill
15. Jackson Lake — 94 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
16. Lake Burton — 120 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
17. Blue Ridge Lake — 246 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
18. Carters Lake — 450 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
19. Lake Rabun — 84 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie, Bluegill

When to fish channel catfish in Georgia

• Spring 3–12 ft — Warm inflows and shallow mud flats after rain.
• Summer 8–25 ft — Deep holes by day; cats roam shallow flats to feed at night.
• Fall 10–30 ft — Fish concentrate in river/creek channels and deeper holes.
• Winter 20–40 ft — Stacked in the deepest holes; slow natural baits.

Also in Georgia: best largemouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best striped bass lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best flathead catfish lakes · best blue catfish lakes · best spotted bass lakes

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