Cats on the Potomac

Type: Nontidal
Region: Southern
Location: Potomac River

Fished the Potomac River, in Dickerson, Maryland. No fish at the power plant spillway. Walked a mile downstream of spillway. Caught 2 catfish, one was 10 inches and my friend caught a 14 inch blue cat. Nice day on the water.

DNR Response: Inland Fisheries has not documented blue catfish in the nontidal portion of the Potomac River. Young channel catfish and blue catfish can look very similar. The most reliable characteristic to look for to tell them apart is the anal fin. The anal fin on channel catfish has a rounded edge and is shorter (25 - 30 rays) whereas the anal fin on blue catfish is much longer (30 - 36 rays) with a straight edge.

We encourage fishermen that catch a fish they can't identify to take several pictures of it with their phone and send them to us for identification. Most of the popular gamefish can be identified from a good photo.