Top fish species at Cole's Catfish Lake

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Cole's Catfish Lake fishing reports

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Channel catfish

length · weight

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Blue catfish

length · weight

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Blue catfish

length · weight

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Flathead catfish

length · weight

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Channel catfish

length · weight

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Blue catfish

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General info

Cole's Catfish Lake is a lake located in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. It is most popular for fishing Blue catfish, Channel catfish, and Flathead catfish.

Location

35°12′36.1″N 81°54′47.7″W
Directions

Fishing regulations at Cole's Catfish Lake, NC

Disclaimer: Always check local fishing regulations, water access rights and land ownership before fishing, regardless of any catches logged in that area by the Fishbrain community. Fishbrain has mapped millions of acres of government-owned land across the USA to help you identify potential fishing access, but you are responsible for ensuring compliance with all legal requirements.

Fishing regulations in North Carolina can change throughout the year. Make sure to check this page before fishing for the most up to date rules and regulations for the current season. Local regulations govern when you can fish, the max size of the fish you can keep, how many fish you can keep, and more.

Below you will see fishing regulations for catching Blue catfish as of April 2nd, 2026. To view regulations for a different fish species, please click on your preferred species in the drop-down.

Blue catfish

Seasons

Open

No size or daily creel limit in all inland fishing waters except those listed below:


Alamance County (Cedarock Park Pond), Alexander County (Ellendale Com- munity Center Pond), Buncombe County (Azalea Park Pond, Charles Owen Park Pond, Lake Julian, Lake Louise, Lake Tomahawk), Cabarrus County (Frank Liske Park Pond, TN Spencer Park Pond), Cumberland County (Lake Rim*), Edgecombe County (Etheridge Pond*, Indian Lake, Newbold Pond*), Forsyth County (CG Hill Memorial Park Pond, Kernersville Lake, Village Point Lake, Winston Park Pond*), Franklin County (Owens Park Pond), Gaston County (Dallas Park Pond, George Poston Park Pond), Granville County (Lake Devin), Guilford County (Bur-Mill Park Ponds, Country Park Pond, Guilford County Farm Park, Hagan Stone Park Ponds, Keeley Park Ponds, Oka T Hester Pond), Jackson County (Cashiers Recreation Pond), Lee County (San-Lee Park Ponds), Lenoir County (Neuseway Nature Center Pond), Mecklenburg County (Elon Holmes Park Pond, Freedom Park Pond, Hor- net's Nest Park Pond, McAlpine Lake*, Robbins Park Ponds, Squirrel Lake), Moore County (Lake Luke Marion, Pages Lake), Nash County (Rocky Mount City Lake), Orange County (Anderson Community Park Pond, Lake Michael), Pitt County (River Park North Ponds), Polk County (Laughter Pond), Richmond County (Ellerbe Community Lake, Hamlet City Lake, Hinson Lake), Rowan County (Dan Nicholas Park Pond, Salisbury Community Park Lake, Lake Corriher), Stanly County (Albe- marle City Lake), Surry County (Big Elkin Creek, Tumbling Rock Reservoir), Union County (Dogwood Park Pond), Vance County (Fox Pond), Wake County (Bass Lake, Bond Park Pond, Harris Lake County Park Pond, Pine Lake in Apex Community Park, Lake Raleigh*, Shelley Lake, Simpkins Pond in Lake Wheeler Park), Yadkin County (Yadkin County Park Pond):

No size limit; daily creel limit 7 Channel Catfish


Ponds located on game lands

Pee Dee River downstream of Blewett Falls Dam to the South Carolina state line and all tributaries

No size limit; daily creel limit 5 in combination


Badin Lake, Dan River (downstream of the Union Street Dam in Danville, VA), Lake Gaston (North Carolina Portion), John H. Kerr Reservoir (North Carolina Portion), Mountain Island Reservoir, Lake Norman, Roanoke Rapids Reservoir, Lake Tillery, Lake Wylie

No minimum size limit, and only one Blue Catfish may be greater than 32 inches

No daily creel limit for Blue Catfish less than 32 inches, and only one Blue Catfish may be greater than 32 inches


For more information please see https://www.ncwildlife.org/licensing/regulations

Very good

Ictalurus furcatus

Regulations for

35°12′36.1″N 81°54′47.7″W
Regulations in the map
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Local laws and licenses

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Cities nearby

Forest City

8.9 miles away

Gaffney

17.3 miles away

Spartanburg

18.4 miles away

Shelby

21.5 miles away

Greer

26.4 miles away

Taylors

30.4 miles away

Hendersonville

31.7 miles away

Marion

32.7 miles away

Wade Hampton

32.8 miles away

Five Forks

33.0 miles away

Greenville

36.4 miles away

Mauldin

36.6 miles away

Simpsonville

38.5 miles away

Morganton

38.6 miles away

Berea

38.7 miles away

Parker

39.2 miles away

Gastonia

41.2 miles away

Lincolnton

42.2 miles away

Asheville

43.8 miles away

Lake Wylie

48.4 miles away

Belmont

49.3 miles away

Newton

49.4 miles away

Hickory

49.6 miles away

Lenoir

53.0 miles away

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FAQ about Cole's Catfish Lake fishing

Cole's Catfish Lake is a lake located in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. Its coordinates are:
35°12′36.1″N 81°54′47.7″W
.
Find the best fishing spots on Cole's Catfish Lake by looking at where other anglers have caught fish. This can easily be done in the where it is also possible to see big fish potential and how good fishing is right now along with Garmin® depth maps.
The most common species in Cole's Catfish Lake are:
The latest Cole's Catfish Lake fishing reports are:
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