I think there is an error (maybe oversight) in the Quoted description above provided in the link by Dan Ashe that said "It is fairly easy to distinguish the sex of a channel catfish. Males usually have a broad muscular head that is wider than the body. A sexually mature male also has dark mottled gray splotches on the underside of the jaw and the abdomen. Female channel catfish have two vents, one to release urine and the other connected to the oviduct to release eggs."
To get specific, technical, and correct the female channel catfish has three ventral openings: the anus, the genital pore, and the urinary pore - 3 vents. The male has two vents; the anus and the genital vent for sperm release. The correct distinction between the male and female urogenital vents/pores is male's pore is on a papilla whereas the female's urinary genital pore/openings are in a slit without a papilla. To accurately sex the fish experienced fish squeezers use the tip of a pencil or similar item to probe the opening to detect presence or absence of the papilla. A common less accurate way to distinguish sex of CC is when the CC is mature the males have the broad muscular head wider than the body, a darkening of the body color and grayish color ('splotches') under the jaws. In contrast females has smaller heads, lighter body color, and have a distended abdomen at spawning time.
Another reference that I have says the female has a tubular nature of the genitalia. During spawning season the folds of skin that are on each side of the urinary and genital openings are raised and divided by a groove.
The erroneous sex distinction information in the link Catmandoo provided was provided by "Dan Ashe is a fisheries biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. He has worked out of the Jasper, Texas field office since 2005 helping to manage east Texas reservoirs including Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend. Dan has also worked as fisheries biologist in Puerto Rico, California, and Alaska but now calls Texas home." Just because you are a fisheries biologist or other trained worker (even doctor) it does not mean one should not double check their information.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 07/18/15 01:43 PM.
