I need YOUR help with monster catfish research!!

if you wanna research giant catfish get your scuba liscense and dive by the dams and or in deep water in any lake or large body of water. there are often times a high concentration of large fish below the dam. cats and stripers lake livingston.

or go noodlen in ok or ak

and have just recently moved back to it and since then I've caught a few good fish but nothing like the weights that have been discussed here.

I do have one account that happened a few weeks ago before the latest bout of rain swelled the river to levels that fishing just isn't possible of at least any fun. I had found a few Hellgrammites (big cats love them) in the rocks on a shoal and caught one channel cat about 14 inches. I put it on my stringer and went back to fishing. My next bite was sudden and hard almost pulling the rod from my hand. I set the hook using 40 lb spider wire. The fish took off, the drag kicked in but it wasn't fast enough. I never turned the things head and line that I usually had to wrap a stick around to break or just cut, snapped within a second. I was awestruck and decided I needed something bigger so I went to look at what I had. A storm moved in so it was an hour before I got back there to which I found my 14 inch catfish had been eaten. Nothing left but its head, no bones like when a turtle eats them. Its body had been taken in one bite! Thats my latest almost encounter although it sounds more like a "big one that got away" tale.

Also, in discussin this with a family memeber many years my elder, It was brought to my attention that one of the lakes which is used for both recreation and flood control of the river I spoke of has experienced an usually high number of drownings in the last few years. Its not that big a lake and has no currents to speak of and most deep parts have been silted in over the years by strip mine run-off. The odd thing is the reports of abrasions on the arms and legs of the victims which resemble those left by big cats on the arms people who practice tickling and noodling. Its theorized behind closed doors that the big catfish may be latching on and pulling people under long enough for them to drown when they venture over spawning ground unknowingly.

I hope to here more about this so I'll keep you all updated.


Edit for interesting link:


www.carpecarpio.com...

[edit on 14-6-2004 by astrocreep]

Hmmm.........We should collaborate!! There's a Lake Eufala in Oklahoma, ya know...

Well I got back from our graveling trip. I got eaten very serverly a few times. Lots of fun. Caught 2 flathead catfish and one bluecat each about 30 pounds each. We let about 3 get away. You definatly need to try this. Takes lots of cahoneys though.

I have heard the school bus / divers/damn story about every lake from the east coast to lake texoma and given the stories all have the same details but are about different bodies of water i would asy they are all bs.

However you asked for catfish stories i think this link has a good one

www.ehowa.com...

allthough its not a real huge cat by comparison it does make for a helluva fish story......

Has anyone seen the movie Big Fish???

Yeah I just saw Big Fish, cool movie, funny enough the same night I saw it I had a dream about a big white shark. Can you eat catfish?

Rumors are..... there is a huge catfish in Lake Mead the size of a volkswagon! Lake Mead is located in Nevada not far from the Nellis Test Site. I've seen some good size catfish come out of that lake, but none that big!

Yeah I just saw Big Fish, cool movie, funny enough the same night I saw it I had a dream about a big white shark. Can you eat catfish?

Sure you can and they are quite tasty too! You have to skin them first. I cut around the head and make like pull tabs. Than with a pair of pliers give it a yank! Most of the time I can skin a whole cat in two tries!

Can you eat catfish?

Man you obviously haved lived you entire life within city limits...........


( just picking on you no real offense intended )

I just happened upon this, I think it's from Florida. Er, I was researching Florida when I happened upon it, anyway.

Enjoy.



--J1m

and ask for cotact with some current divers who work maintenance.

Tons of stories from those guys.

It is not exactly a monster, but worth a look. I found this on Snopes today.

Catchfish
Claim: Photographs show a catfish with a basketball stuck in its mouth.
Status: True.

(It is a funny colored/sized basketball, but you'll get the idea)I don't think they approve of direct linking to images on their site.

Originally posted by Just1Man
I just happened upon this, I think it's from Florida. Er, I was researching Florida when I happened upon it, anyway.

Enjoy.


--J1m

I seriously doubt that it's from Florida, because it's a Catfish, Silurus glanis, from Germany. They are known to reach 18ft, and occasionally eat the small dogs of bathers in rivers.

fishbase.org...

[edit on 29-6-2004 by jeffthefish]

Originally posted by KelsieG
Hmmm.........We should collaborate!! There's a Lake Eufala in Oklahoma, ya know...

That sounds like a good idea, actually. I'm gonna pm you my email address.

I've seen a 104 lb caught out of Wa#a River right off I-35 south of Davis. BUT, I've also seen 130 lb at the Tyler Zoo...they don't get much longer they just get fatter!

BUT, I just viewed a several pics last week made by a man that lives in a community built around a private lake near Hayes, Kansas. All the houses are built around the lake. He went in his backyard and kept seeing something orange bobbing up and down. Don't know how long he saw this, but eventually it bobs over close enough he sees it's a flathead catfish with a basketball stuck in his mouth! The damned basketball was still aired up so the fish couldn't go under!

He gets something and starts kind of raking this catfish in. Eventually he gets it close enough to his pier that his wife takes a knife and deflates the basketball and got it out of this catfish's mouth. It's all caught in pics!

lol...I bet his jaws were sore. I will go to the guy who got the email with the pics and story tomorrow and see if he still has it...if so, I'll post them all here for you. It was a trip!

Hey, Val. That story is the one I linked to a few posts back in the thread. The pictures are great. My dad, the consumate catfisherman, got a good chuckle out of that "fish tale."

Originally posted by Spectre
Catchfish
Claim: Photographs show a catfish with a basketball stuck in its mouth.
Status: True.

lol it just cracks me up!

good job spec

Ok what gives did no body click my link? I posted the basketball story and then a couple of days later two other people did?

link

Try this link to there page.you have to pay to see there archives but two days ago they ran a small article with photo of a large catfish in america that plays with a large football.Seriously funny photo of a catfish with the ball in it`s mouth.
If l find the paper l will scan photo for you.

[edit on 2-7-2004 by weirdo]