catfish or panfish

Question
how do i know if there is catfish or panfish in a lake

Answer
Hi Kay; To begin with virtually every lake in the continental U.S. except those used for other specific purposes such as rearing ponds at hatcheries or test lakes to test how certain water life is living probably have both catfish and panfish in them.  Fish are seeded in lakes by various ways.  If there is a stream flowing into a lake that has fish in it these fish will also be in the lake unless they have been kept out purposefully.  Birds carry eggs from one lake or river to others transferring fish from one place to another.   Of course men often plant fish in a lake and most states have programs of planting certain fish in different lakes.

If the lake you are concerned with is a state or county or city lake check with the state fisheries people.  Most states have an online site that gives this kind of information.
If it is a private lake you will, of course, need permission to fish such a lake.  If the owner is so inclined as to allow you to fish he/she probably knows what kinds of fish are in the lake.  If you can't contact the owner but know the lake is open to fishing you can find out if there are catfish by tossing a line with a worm on it into the lake near a deep hole or along a dam face.  Usually eventually a catfish will come along and bite providing the panfish haven't eaten your bait.  If the panfish eat the worms try using a piece of chicken liver as bait.  The panfish don't eat this off but the catfish like it.

Actually asking someone who knows about the lake is the best way to determine what kind of fish are in a lake.

Thank you for calling on me to answer your question.  If you have other questions don't hesitate to ask.

Jack L. Gaither
Lake Seminole, GA.