Present. Open all year, 25 per day.

Channel catfish

Ictalurus punctatus

A summer night fish. Almost nobody on this lake targets them.

What the DNR measured

Shawano Lake data: No stand-alone table in the 2023 comprehensive report.
Season: Open all year, 25 per day, no minimum length.

What that means on the water

Catfish are not surveyed here, so the silence in the report tells you nothing about how many there are. The Wolf River system holds them, and the outlet connects the lake to the river.

Where to find it

Fish the deep holes in the outlet and the Wolf River.
Work the main lake basin after dark in midsummer.
Try the water below the Shawano dam.

How to catch it

Cut bait or crawler bunches on a bottom rig, after dark.
Anchor above a hole and let the scent work downstream.

Spots on this lake for channel catfish

2 of the 10 named areas hold channel catfish. Tap a marker for the reason.

Spot	Why it holds them
Shawano Lake Outlet	The channel that drains the lake into the Wolf River, and the best-scoring water in the whole system. Largemouth size structure of 73 against 49 in the main lake, and the longest yellow perch the DNR measured at 12.6 inches. Spring runs of walleye, pike and musky pass through it.
Wolf River below the dam	The spring run water, and the bank where people gather in April to watch lake sturgeon spawn. Note the closure: from April 15 to May 15 the stretch below the dam is a fish refuge and is off limits.

All 10 spots and the season-by-season pattern