Check this out...

[Hooked4Life]

I had to do a double take when I saw those pictures. LOL

 

[Dee]

One of the Search and Rescue divers for the county Sheriff's Dept. has told us of finding catfish large enough to swallow a man at the base of the dam at one of the local man-made lakes. :wacko:

He was on a body recovery at the base of the dam, in blackout conditions, when he found what he thought was the body. The barbels were the size of a man's arm, the mouth was as wide as his shoulders and the teeth wider than his hand. He no longer does recoveries at the base of the dam!

 

[SeaJay]

It appears to me to be a freshwater fish... Like of the widemouthed bass variety... But that's not what was on the caption of the photo...

http://www.islc.net/~bayne/fish.html

I'm not sure if that picture is quite as stunning as the catfish ones, since we all are familiar with cats and know what the "normal" size of them is...

 

[Dee]

Link says it was caught off the Florida Keys. Looks like a Jewfish, or Goliath Grouper they're called now. That's a normal size for them.

 

[SeaJay]

...But it doesn't look like the Goliaths that we see around here (although they're that big).

Check out the head and mouth area... Are you convinced that's a Goliath Grouper? I'm not.

That looks more like a bass to me...

 

[Dee]

I was looking at the eye placement, shape of anal and dorsal fins as well as the tail shape. It's hard to see the shape of the gill plate, too.

Coloration is hard to tell since they change color after death but it looks like it could have that blotchy pattern.

And all groupers are in the seabass family.

 

[SeaJay]

Dee once bubbled...
I was looking at the eye placement, shape of anal and dorsal fins as well as the tail shape. It's hard to see the shape of the gill plate, too.

Coloration is hard to tell since they change color after death but it looks like it could have that blotchy pattern.

And all groupers are in the seabass family.

Hm.

Well, maybe you're right then. Still is a bit shocking, isn't it?

 

[SMKChef]

Do they actually eat those catfish? Or just catch and release? I guess I won't be ordering catfish anytime soon. Those pics are stomach churning. Kind of like seeing a monkfish and then having someone tell you its the best tasting fish around.

 

[andrea31419]

ha,ha,ha....it's funny to ready everyone's response to those pics. Mine was the same when I first saw them...thought you'd get a kick out of those SeaJay. I'm from Savannah, and there is NO way I'd stick my arm in a mudhole....those guys are NUTS!!!! But, a lot of people from Savannah are....

Enjoy!

Andrea

 

[Dee]

SMKChef once bubbled...
Do they actually eat those catfish? Or just catch and release? I guess I won't be ordering catfish anytime soon. Those pics are stomach churning. Kind of like seeing a monkfish and then having someone tell you its the best tasting fish around.

Around here the big ones don't generally get eaten except by the truly dedicated fisherman. When catfish get that big, the flesh is very oily and has that very strong 'fishy' flavor and the texture of the flesh is very soft and mushy. Yucky any way you look at it!