Record Size Catfish

[Lila]

Got this in an email. Thought it was interesting.

Georgia State Record Catfish ...

New state record catfish. 140 lbs. caught in the Chattahoochee River. This is one of those legendary fish that scuba divers say they see at the bottom of dams that are big enough to eat a person. They say that catfish this big are well over 100 years old. The fish was caught near Patula Creek on the main river in only 3 1/2 feet of water.

 

[Stephen]

The email is actually a hoax. That's actually a Wels Catfish and the fish and the guys are both in europe. Give me a minute or two and I'll find a link to the site...

http://www.thejump.net/id/wels-catfish.htm

I got a similar email but it stated the fish was caught in Tenn.

 

[bayoupr]

Wonder what size tank you would need for that? That's one heck of a catfish. I've seen some big opp's from toledo bend around 80lbs but nothing that big.

 

[Lila]

I figured it was a hoax, that's why I mentioned it was from an email. I just thought it was a really neat catch!

Thanks for pointing it out!



Lila

 

[Stephen]

A tank for that thing would have to be huge. The first time I saw a pic of one I was like "WTF". That's one of the largest and ugliest catfish I've ever seen. Could you imagine catching one of those things. I've caught blue cats around here that were over 30 pounds and that was a heck of a fight. But one over 100. I'd end up wanting to cut the line. LOL. You could have a heck of a fish fry with that thing though. Although cleaning that thing would be a pain, you'd have enough catfish for a year.

 

[bayoupr]

Hell, you would need a chain saw to fillet it and a big freezer for all that meat. Not to mention one heck of a rod and reel.

 

[125gJoe]

I saw that pic awhile ago, and find it incredible!!

Piques some interest to be sure...!

 

[NatakuTseng]

I am sure though there are cats in the US that are that large, just not wels. Channel and Blue catfish get huge. I have personally seen a couple that have tipped the scales at around 65-70lbs. Its one of those things where you never know what your going to catch untill you do, Who would have thought that a brook trout, which averages around 1-1.5 lbs could ever reach a size of around 14lbs, but its happend.

 

[tel0004]

As far as what size tank you would need. I would guess he is about 6 feet, which would be about 72 inches. Using the 1 inch per gallon rule, he should fit nicely into my 75 gallon aquariuam, and I can even keep my 2 neon terras in with him.

 

[reiverix]

There's a nice fishing site about them

http://xvella.online.fr/photos/photo-eng.php?sub=21&idx=526&cntp=39&size=2

It's reckoned they can grow to 1000 pounds making them one of the largest freshwater fish. I always did want to fish for them when I lived in Scotland but they are not native there. Ah well.