I've always heard rumors of people diving near deep water dams and swearing to never dive there again because the water was so merkey and there were catfish the size of Volkswagons. It's very possible that a Flathead could infact get proportionate to a VW Bug, 300+ pounds. I completely believe the tale, simply base on the European and South American species of "cats" that get well in excess of 250 pounds. The questions that I have are:
1. What the heck would a 300 pound catfish eat? (i'd say about anything it wanted, including dogs and small children)
2. Why hasn't anyone caught/tried to target those big boys?
I couldn't imagine the tackle it would take to wheel in a 300 pound flathead. I've caught Flatheads in the 40's, and it put my Abu Garcia 7000's in a hell of a bind. Catfish are incredibly strong and explosive. Any input?
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Hi there Tarpon-4me,
One reason the cats are supposed to be huge in the pool the dam's release flumes form is that the turbines chew up the fish that get caught in the turbines when power is generated by the water released and the cats wait to gobble up the free meal.
Don't know if it true.
JapanRon
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[font "Bradley Hand ITC"][black][size 4]I just got in from a day of trout fishing and cleaning, but i have a pick of a cat caught in TN I will try to post it tomorrow afternoon. To whipped to scan and post it to night. but you will see why it would scare the crap out of a diver.[/size][/black][/font]
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Cool beans! [cool] I'll be looking foward to seeing the pick! Hope you can get it posted.
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[font "Bradley Hand ITC"][black][size 3]oooops hope that pic wasn't to big.[/size][/black][/font]
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That looks like the same picture that has been floating around the Net of the Wells Cat.
That one is actually a South American species.
No doubt it is a huge cat. I wouldn't want to have an encounter (except for hook and line) with on of those bad boys.[shocked]
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I have to agree, that's not a North American species there. The largest N. American species in the U.S. and close by are Flatheads. That, uncontestably, is NOT a flathead. However, that just goes to show that the possibility of catfish in that size range are very real. The real scare involved with running accross a cat that big is that catfish are extremely aggressive and temper-mental. Probably along the lines of swimming with a 500 pound Jewfish(a protected species of GIANT grouper), just with out the water clarity. In other words, not something you'd want to make a habbit of. [pirate]
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Hi there,
There is a South African saltwater catfish that grows to a humungus size. I was surfing some of the South African fishing sites and those guys are nuts !! Especially the surf anglers in both their gear, how far they normally cast, and the wierd, big, mean fish they catch.
PLUS.... GW heaven 50 feet off shore !!!! NOT ! Largest number of GW sharks and 'I-N-C-I-D-E-N-T-S in the world.
JapanRon
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[size 3]I have the article about the catfish; it had the guys name and his company. I did a search and he has a web site. I e-mailed him and asked him a few questions about the photo. If he replies I will post it. It looks bigger then 121# to me and with the spots I don’t think it’s a blue or a flathead.[/size]
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Here are a couple of web sites with info about bigger cats including the wells.
[url "http://www.foundationtv.co.uk/brilliantcreatures/ser6/show4item2.html"]Wells Catfish[/url]
[url "http://xvella.free.fr/photos/photo-eng.php?sub=21&idx=344&cntp=9"]Catfish Gallery[/url]
there are some nice Kittys in the gallery.[cool]
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[font "Bradley Hand ITC"][black][size 3]I'm still waiting for any info on the catfish picture I posted. I guess i will have to start bugging him. If i don't hear from him buy next week at this time, maybe i will post his email too, lol and we can all start bugging him [sly][/size][/black][/font]
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) This is supposed to be a 121# cat caught in Norris lake TN. I scuba dive and i have seen some pretty big fish but if i ever swam up on this cat in murky water i think i would have trouble ever diving there again.