When I was a kid, my grandparents took me fishing at the Lake Norden spillway, a passage that allows water from Lake Norden to flow underneath Highway 28 and into lakes Mary, John, Albert and points beyond. I don’t recall being excited by the outing. Fishing had never appealed to me. My grandparents, who once took yearly fishing trips into Saskatchewan and caught their share of Northern pike and perch in the waters of Hamlin County, were no doubt trying to pique my interest in their shared pastime.

When I snagged my first bullhead, I felt like I was in for the fight of my 5-year-old life. I had a monster. But it was nothing like the fish Roy Groves landed in May of 1949. Within four days, the grandfatherly old man from Meckling pulled two enormous catfish out of the James River that proved to be state and world records — a 94-pound, 8-ounce blue catfish and a 55-pound channel catfish.

The blue catfish record fell 10 years later, but when Groves died in 1967 he was still the channel cat record holder. It stood until 2019, when the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks issued a ruling that justified what many anglers had long suspected — that Groves’ channel cat wasn’t really a channel after all. After more closely examining photos of the fish and studying its anatomy, the 70-year-old record was voided.

The news prompted a renewed interest in catfishing in South Dakota. Just three days after the record was voided, the new benchmark was set when Chuck Ewald caught an 8-pound, 3-ounce channel cat at Whitlock Bay. His record lasted only two days. It fell another six times by June 10. Drew Matthews holds the current state record with a 30-pound, 1-ounce channel caught in a farm pond by Murdo.

South Dakota is home to three types of catfish. Channel cats are the most widespread; they live in rivers and lakes throughout the state. Flathead catfish are found primarily in the Missouri River and its tributaries, the James and Big Sioux, but there is also an isolated population in Lake Mitchell. Blue catfish swim almost exclusively in the Missouri below Gavins Point Dam, though they can be caught along the lower James and Big Sioux rivers, as well.

Channel cats are easily recognizable by their whiskers, or barbels, that extend from the corners of their mouths. Their bodies are drab olive in color with white bellies and no scales. They lurk close to the bottom of a lake or river, preying on crustaceans, insects or other fish. All in all, a slimy-looking catfish may not be the most attractive species to find on the end of your hook, but according to Geno Adams, the fisheries program administrator for Game, Fish and Parks, they are among the state’s most underutilized fish. “We have some absolutely phenomenal channel cat fishing in South Dakota, and they just don’t get used like they do in some other states,” Adams says. “When people from other states move here and they’re big cat fishermen, or they come for a walleye trip and get winded off the reservoir and the guide takes them into the back of a bay to fish cats, people are astounded by the quality of catfishing in these reservoirs.”

If you’re seeking a thrill, spend the night on the river fishing for blues or flatheads, each of which can grow to gigantic proportions. Steve Lemmon currently holds the blue catfish record with a 99-pound, 4-ounce monster caught in the Big Sioux River on July 21, 2012. The state flathead record belongs to Davin Holland, who caught a 63-pound, 8-ounce fish in the James River in 2006.