Comments on: Big Fish Story or The One That Got Away?

By: mom_of_2

mom_of_2 — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 14:44:04 +0000

Many years ago a barge hit the Belpre, Ohio/Parkersburg, WV Bridge, so divers had to go down and check for damages etc – possible even bodies – that I don’t remember for sure. However, a good friend of mine was asked to dive, and when he came up he said that he would never go in the Ohio River again – there were fish as big as he… he wasn’t no little man, and others said the same. Rather they are bigger, the same size… who knows, but I bet they can be DANGEROUS!

By: CryptoInformant

CryptoInformant — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 23:43:56 +0000

I’ve heard of Giant Armored ones in the Amazon. There is scientific proof for one the size of a man, though actually there’s only a little more than there is for Ole’ Foot.

By: Skeptical...

Skeptical... — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 13:17:17 +0000

In Cincinnati, there are numerous local legends about giant catfish haunting the bottom of the Ohio River. The euphemism you hear most often is “catfish the size of a Volkswagen.” What with all the nasty stuff in Ohio River water, it would not surprise me if there really were some big ugly mutants down there.

By: Arkansan_88

Arkansan_88 — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 06:30:32 +0000

Yes catfish can get very big. I’ve heard that in the Arkansas River, divers have seen catfish big enough to eat a man. This may seem a little morbid but bodies are dumped into the river and found all the time. Many of them are never found. Maybe this explains where the missing went.

By: Doug

Doug — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 22:37:58 +0000

My father was in Europe at that time in the service, and he heard of a giant catfish that had consumed a small child while he was there. He never mentioned where the event occured, but it was told to him as fact. I remember him telling me when I was around eight years old. I did not want to go fishing for quite a while afterwards.

By: Tim Cassidy

Tim Cassidy — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 21:55:38 +0000

I had a very large catfish nicknamed “Whiskers” by the locals swim under the john-boat me and two other coworkers were in at Lake Monroe in Indiana. Flathead Catfish, perhaps 150 lb. or heavier. Let’s just say it was a record breaker at least for the state and longer than five feet in length.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:57:08 +0000

Well, the giant Snapper Turtles have to eat something…

By: Ken Gerhard

Ken Gerhard — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:52:50 +0000

Thanks to John for recounting this story about the giant catfish on my homemade Crypto DVD. There are of course other species besides the wels that can grow to immense sizes, such as Pangasianodon gigas or the giant Mekong catfish of Asia and also Brachyplatystoma filamentosum of South America. Both species are rumored to reach weights of over six hundred pounds. What I am curious about is whether there are any specimens remaining in North American waters that approach Mark Twain’s.

By: stompy

stompy — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 00:29:17 +0000

I don’t doubt it. I know that in Va, the state record catfish are caught in the Occocuan res. and can reach up to 75 lbs (which is a small fry compared to the Romanian). Also, I believe that it was in Huck Finn where Jim figures to bait a hook with a whole chicken in order to catch a catfish as big as a man. Mark Twain threw that out there as a “fish story” based on local legends.

I think these darn things grow until they die and the bigger the body of water- the bigger they can get.

Just a feeling

By: Doc

Doc — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 23:09:04 +0000

WoW ! I seen many a big catfish and heard about a few as well but nothing like that. I remember when I was about 17 back in Ohio, fishing at the Greenup Dam on the Ohio River. Of course being a teenager we were fishing on the deep side of the dam where your not supposed to be. I had my feet in the water and was just casting out when something brushed my foot, I thought it was a log so I positioned myself and put my foot on it to move it away. Instead of moving away it pushed back and surfaced. I have never moved so fast in my life. Its head was as big around as a barrel. Dont know how long it was but you can bet we never swam or fished there again. I’ll bet there are some big ones on the Mississippi and near the Hoover damn as well.