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[KarateKick]

When I was a little girl my uncle took me to Mission to catch catfish.  He is not around anymore and I don't know the location.  Can you catch catfish anywhere close to the city of Vancouver?

Thank you.

[poper]

Roley lake, hatxic lake have them, not sure you would want to go fish just for them, I think your supposed to just throw them in the bush if you catch 1, lol, at least that's what I have seen done around there.

[RalphH]

they have poisonous spines in some of their fins that deliver a very painful sting.

[KarateKick]

they have poisonous spins in some of their fins that deliver a very painful sting.

Yikes.  I don't recall being stung as a child.  I have been stung recently by some lower Fraser sculpins though.

[sbc hris]

I suspect they're in the Fraser as well, though I'm not sure where you'd fish for them. I once saw a dead one in the Stave River, so they must be in the Fraser and tribs to some degree.

[Bavarian Raven]

Como lake in coquitlam has some...

[firstlight]

Try some of the sloughs in Pitt Meadows.
Yes they do sting and its not funny as I watched someone get stung when I was young.

[hammer]

Karate kick
If you are wanting a high success, kid friendly venue....I take my kids to Pitt marsh. Google earth the area and before you get to Grant Narrows, turn right on the gravel road and park at the pipe gate.  Red and white bobber, medium split shot, #6 -8 hook and worm. You can catch catfish, bass, sunfish, crappies etc. Every pond or slough in that area has those fish. ....some have roadside access. Plus lots of wildlife to see.
In Burnaby ...deer lake has bass, sunfish, catfish, some trout and it is close with good access. I took a group of kids canoeing there and saw people fishing from the dock and several point in the southern shore. Worth a look. I took a small boat and floated around with my young son and we caught bass and sunfish on a bobber and worm.

[TimL]

I suspect they're in the Fraser as well, though I'm not sure where you'd fish for them. I once saw a dead one in the Stave River, so they must be in the Fraser and tribs to some degree.

Yup..they are around but not in large numbers. Here's one that was caught last spring in the tidal Fraser (off Delta/New West) while bait fishing for dollies. We were surprised seeing one so far downstream in the estuary.


Lafarge lake has them too..check out the shallows by the floating dock

[Damien]

As does Trout Lake in East Van.  Along with Sunfish, Crappie and Carp.

Again, bobber and worm or corn will get you action.

[clarki]

they have poisonous spines in some of their fins that deliver a very painful sting.

Truth. Perhaps poisonous, but certainly 3 sharp bony spines: one each on the two pectoral fins and one on the dorsal fin.

As a catfish hunter in my Ontarion youth I regularly caught channel cats and brown and black bullheads. Unlike spiny rayed fish that you can smooth out the dorsal fin with your hand by approaching it from the head, no such luck with the spines on a cat.

My strategy to get a firm hand on the fish and to not get jabbed was to grasp the fish from behind so that the dorsal spine was against the webbing of your hand between your thumb and index fingers and then place your thumb and index fingers behind the spines on the pectoral fins and press them forward.

[lewisk]

Hatzic lake in Mission, went the lake yesterday and caught over 10 of them. I have a boat if you fish from shore you will need a light casting or spinning rod, worms is the best bait.

[RalphH]

there are no catfish in the LMR or FV. What we have are brown bullhead.

[clarki]

there are no catfish in the LMR or FV. What we have are brown bullhead.

I think I know what you are getting at, but bullheads are considered "catfish".
 
Catfish (ie. channels, blues) and bullheads, while different species, are members of the Family Ictaluridae. This is "a family of catfish native to North America, where they are important food fish and sometimes as a sport fish. The family includes about 51 species, some commonly known as bullheads, madtoms, channel catfish, and blue" (Wikipedia, not me)

Granted bullheads don't get the same size, food or sporting qualities as other species, they are still considered to be "catfish".

[clarki]

I think your supposed to just throw them in the bush if you catch 1, lol, at least that's what I have seen done around there.

I have an affinity for bullheads and admittedly, at first, I was a little troubled by this comment. Then I did a little bit of reading😀 Bullheads are not native to Pacific drainages and "Nonnative predators, including Brown Bullhead, have been shown to reduce the abundance and diversity of native prey species in several Pacific Northwest rivers"  reference: https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=734
 
Interesting. Thanks for the re-set.