Any catfish weighing over 100# should automatically be referred to as a lionfish
Damn! If I’d caught that sucker, I’d have been frying up hushpuppies and calling all my friends. “Bring beer. I got the fish!” 
Editorial comment provided by: Cary Grant
Thats a… big fish.
If you have ever been “stung” by a catfish, you’ll know it…and sure wouldn’t like to have that one get mad at me in deep water!
About that idea of skinny dipping in the ol’ Mississippi tonight…pass.
Perhaps the same people who insist ‘Elvis is Alive’ will start claiming [Jeff Buckley](Almost 8 years to the day) had returned to us in the form of a catfish.
Well, at least he caught it on a line.
I’d hate to think what the story would have been if he’d been noodling.
Can the age of a 124# catfish be determined? He must be the great-grand-daddy of 'em all!
Well it looks like the “big fish” that got away has finally been captured once and for all.
The biggest catfish I ever brought in weighed in at 39 lbs. and I was extremely proud of myself, that fish is number two behind the marlin I fought with for like 2 hours on my favorite catch list.
The catfish in question for me was a channel catfish caught down in Florida, since they typically weigh like 4 pounds it was a pretty substantial giant among its own species.
As someone who has caught some catfish, I must say that if I ever hook up with one that’s almost 5 feet long and 48 inches around, I’ll probably cut it loose! How the fisherman ever hauled a 124 pounder into his boat is mind-boggling in itself. A catfish that big is not a fish; it’s a monster!
When I was a kid and did something stupid, my grandmother would ask, “did you loose your noodle?” After reading this article, now I know what she met cause to “noodle” you would have to have lost your noodle.
“Come on, Earl…just stick your hand in a hole at the bottom of that crick and see whatchya git!”
I can’t be the only one who thought the guy was baiting catfish with his, umm, noodle… :dubious:
please, I really can’t be the only one…
Yes, but you have to cut the head off and count the fish rings.
Please educate the ignorant: what does it mean to be ‘stung’ by a catfish?
All the “stinging” I’ve ever got from fish has been from the barbs on the back of a bass or similar species. I’ve heard, however, that catfish have similar barbs on the sides of their head. Being less obvious, they’re apparently easier to get “stung” by. I’ve never had a problem with catfish, but then I’ve also been careful because I’ve always heard this.
I’ve also heard that the barbs don’t stick out on the larger specimens (their fat/skin grows over them) and therefore they don’t sting. Does anyone know if this is true?
A little searching tells me that catfish are venomous, and it is a barb (not the whiskers, like a lot of people think) that “stings” you. No word yet on whether or not especially large specimens retain their barbs or ability to envenomate.
:eek: Damn. That fish weighs more than I do. :eek:
Here’s hoping he makes out better in his fishtank than that monster lobster a while ago…
We used to refer to it as being “finned” by a catfish. I can attest that it is painful as all get out and my experience was with a catfish weighing maybe two pounds. The barbs are stiffer than the rays in the regular fins; when the fish is given a chance to fling its head around and a portion of your body is in the wrong place, you get “finned.” And you will then spend a certain amount of time in wishing it had never happened.
Wow…they should have called you in as a psychic expert. Poor catfish died on the way to his new condo-tank.
Uh…if you wouldn’t mind lizardling, could you email me next week’s California lottery numbers? If I win, I’ll buy you something shiny!