River and Lake divers

[lifes an ocean]

Okay, so I think this would be the best place to post this quetion. I have been curious if anyone who has dove a lake or river has ever seen huge catfish? I have heard that there are these huge catfish that live deep in lakes or rivers, ie by dams. Not sure if this is an urban legend or not, but just got really curious today.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Define "huge" because that really is a very subjective term. I have seen pictures (on SB I think) of large catfish but I am not sure that I would classify them as huge. Personally, I have never been fortunate enough to see a catfish (I say "not fortunate enough" because any wildlife on my local dives would make it more exciting) so I can only speak to pictures that I have seen.

 

[lifes an ocean]

Lets see a way to describe huge...guess it would be some that are bigger than a man really. I have heard some say that there are some big enough to eat a man. I realize I am probably hearing fish stories, but hey maybe there is some truth to it.

 

[Jimmer]

There are catfish in the Mekong river in Laos/Thailand/Cambodia etc. that grow to massive sizes, definetly bigger than a human, but in North America, you wont find anything nearly that big.

 

[lifes an ocean]

Okay, so yeah, googled that, they are Freaking Huge. I was pretty shocked. Okay so anyone see big cats here in the States?

 

[sclakediver]

Fish tend to grow everytime a story is told. Blue cats have been caught in excess of 100 lbs, in the states. A large fish by my standards, but the story would have to be told a few times, before it reached man eating proportions.

 

[bleeb]

Maybe an urban legend:
Catfish and Bullheads - How Big is Big - Freshwater Fishing

Updated blue catfish record (124 lbs): Blue catfish receives world record status from the IGFA

 

[ScubaSteve]

Fish tend to grow everytime a story is told. Blue cats have been caught in excess of 100 lbs, in the states. A large fish by my standards, but the story would have to be told a few times, before it reached man eating proportions.

So if I read this correctly you caught a 1000# man eating megladon-like catfish?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I've seen plenty of large catfish. I'm not sure what you mean by huge. Quite a few of the quarries in my area have catfish. You probably wouldn't call any of them huge. The catfish I see are typically 2-3' long. I've never seen a huge one if by huge you mean 4-6' or larger.

My favorite are the flathead catfish. They have a uniquely shaped head and are mottled in color. They typically stay hidden away in cracks and other gaps between rocks. You're cruising along the bottom looking into various cracks and then you find one seemingly glued to the side of a rock.

The largest fish I've seen in our area are the spoonbill or paddlefish. They can easily read 4-5' long.

 

[sclakediver]

So if I read this correctly you caught a 1000# man eating megladon-like catfish?

Thats right, just ask Bobby-Joe.