What is the best channel catfish lake in Washington?

Sprague Lake tops our ranking of Washington channel catfish waters — 15 ft max depth with real survey depth contours. Whitestone Lake and Lake Campbell round out the top three.

How many lakes in Washington have channel catfish?

DepthScout maps 7 Washington waters holding channel catfish, 7 of them with real state-agency depth surveys. The deepest is Roses Lake at 30 ft.

← Washington fishing maps

Best channel catfish lakes in Washington

7 Washington waters hold channel catfish, 7 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.

Sprague Lake — 15 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
Whitestone Lake — 25 ft max · survey depth data · Channel Catfish
Lake Campbell — 15 ft max · survey depth data · Channel Catfish, Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout
Lake Lawrence — 25 ft max · survey depth data · Channel Catfish, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
Roses Lake — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Channel Catfish, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
Stan Coffin Lake — 10 ft max · survey depth data · Channel Catfish
Chambers Lake — 8 ft max · survey depth data · Channel Catfish, Brown Trout

When to fish channel catfish in Washington

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 Washington: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best common carp lakes · best chinook salmon lakes · best coho salmon lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best kokanee lakes · best cutthroat trout lakes

Channel Catfish elsewhere: Minnesota · Michigan · Montana · Wyoming · North Dakota · Iowa · Indiana · Nebraska · Ohio · Utah · Colorado · South Dakota · New York · Wisconsin · Kentucky · Arizona · Mississippi · Texas · Nevada · Florida · Illinois · Kansas · Oklahoma · Tennessee · Missouri · Delaware · Alabama · Georgia · West Virginia · New Jersey · California · Virginia · Hawaii · Pennsylvania · South Carolina