# Ever believe in giant dam catfish? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2025, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-believe-in-giant-dam-catfish/1021841 "2025-08-08T02:07:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-believe-in-giant-dam-catfish/1021841/61 "2025-08-09T02:43:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There’s two fundamental things going on here. First, catfish can, in fact, get really, really big, much bigger than most people expect fish to get. > > Second, when humans see things, especially animals, that are much bigger than we expect them to be, especially when we see them only very briefly, and in stressful circumstances, we tend to overestimate just how big they are. > > Put the two together, and stories of catfish the size of a car are hardly surprising. Probably closer to the truth as anything. If someone said they saw a catfish the size of a battleship it would obviously an exaggeration of size. Seeing a 150 lb fish up close is probably something that generates a “big fish” story. Are we talking about a [Peel P50](https://www.alamy.com/a-peel-p50-the-smallest-car-in-the-world-is-road-tested-around-the-streets-and-offices-of-kensington-image337298714.html) or a [Duesenberg Model J](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duesenberg_Model_J#/media/File:1930_Duesenberg_J_Murphy_Disappearing_Top_Torpedo_Convertible_Coupe_-_fvl_(4609844035).jpg). ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-believe-in-giant-dam-catfish/1021841/62 "2025-08-09T04:48:14Z")
There are freshwater sharks, and they’re catfish. > **[Shark catfish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_catfish)** > > †Cetopangasius > Helicophagus > Pangasianodon > Pangasius > Pseudolais > The shark catfishes form the family Pangasiidae. They are found in fresh and brackish waters across southern Asia, from Pakistan to Borneo. Among the 30-odd members of this family is the plant-eating, endangered Mekong giant catfish Pangasianodon gigas, one of the largest known freshwater fish. Several species are the basis of productive aquaculture industries in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. > Although Pangasiidae forms a monophyletic g... ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-believe-in-giant-dam-catfish/1021841/63 "2025-08-09T05:54:49Z")
Isn’t “telling a fish story” the very definition of a tall tale? And don’t the fish get bigger each time you tell it? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2025, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-believe-in-giant-dam-catfish/1021841/64 "2025-08-10T03:03:10Z")
I heard about a big beast called General Sherman by the locals, it was the biggest, meanest catfish ever to exist. They said that it was finally fished by a man called Homer, apparently he was 2 meters tall and hair as red as the very fires of hell… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-believe-in-giant-dam-catfish/1021841.md?page=3)