Giant Catfish - Fishing Video

The catfish we get here in Australia can get big, but nothing like the sizes of the giant catfish caught in other locations around the world. Our catfish even have poisonous spines that can kill you which means that Australians like catching catfish about as much as catching a cold. However, since writing this blog, I have come to realize that catfish are a prized catch in certain parts of the world and if you are in any doubt as to why then just watch the fight from the catfish in the video!

I have written about catfish before such as the biggest catfish ever caught, catfish noodling video and night fishing for catfish as well as the strange story of the catfish that swallowed the basketball. As this is my fifth catfish post I decided to try and find a really interesting video of a giant catfish to mark the occasion. This video of a guy catching an awesome giant catfish and is well worth a watch. This huge fish puts up a strong fight (take a look at the bend in that rod) and it was really great to see it released after capture. Enjoy!

Night Fishing For Catfish

Catfish seem to be on my mind lately (see the biggest catfish ever caught post) and this post is no different.

Night fishing for catfish

Catfish were once strictly a night time angling target exclusively, but day time fishing has become a much more popular method for catching these great fish. However, there are many reasons to go night fishing including;

• The water to too clear.
• It is too hot during the day.
• Too many anglers and "pleasure craft" on the water during the day.
• Catfish (and other fish for that matter) will often be more willing to feed at night.
• The bigger catfish are consistently caught at nighttime!
  

To catch catfish at night try following the tips below;

• Try to be quiet catfish don’t have the best vision, but they are sensitive to noise.
  
• Try a big smelly bait to give the catfish the best chance of finding your bait - try shad, fresh fish fillets, chicken livers even hot dogs will work.
• Use a rig with the hook on the bottom (this is where the catfish are looking for food).
• Try not to shine your light in the water - this can scare the catfish.
• If you are fishing a river try working the pools below the damn where the bait fish will be schooling.

Good Luck - hopefully you will catch a big catfish like the one in the video

Biggest catfish ever caught (with video)

If there has been one species of fish that has captured the imagination more than any other it would probably be monster catfish. Stories of these monster fish have been quietly told around lakes, tackle stores, bars and fishing clubs for hundreds of years. Stories of huge fish caught and even bigger fish lost are etched into the memory of all serious catfish anglers.

The biggest catfish ever caught
There are many species of catfish in the world and that makes the task of finding the biggest catfish ever caught somewhat more complicated - here is all the information I could find.

The largest Blue Catfish
Caught in the Mississippi River on May 22, 2005, weighed in at 124 lb (56.2 kg). (SEE VIDEO)

The largest flathead catfish
Caught in Independence, Kansas, weighing 123 lb 9 oz (56.0 kg).

The largest recorded catfish capture
However, these records pale in comparison to a giant Mekong catfish caught in northern Thailand in May 1, 2005 and reported to the press almost 2 months later that weighed 293 kg (646 lb). This is the largest giant Mekong catfish caught, but only since Thai officials started keeping records in 1981. (see picture)

Biggest Mekong Catfish Picture



The largest catfish ever caught video


(source wikipedia and aquaticcommunity.com)

Catfish Noodling Video

I first saw catfish noodling on the television show Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe. Of course I have heard of it before, but I thought it was some kind of myth or legend. I had that idea because in Australia our catfish have poisonous barbs and can even kill you so I was a little skeptical at first. However, after seeing catfish noodling first hand it certainly looks interesting. So I just had to find a catfish noodling video or two to show my readers!

You start out by finding a catfish hole and then you place your hand in the catfish hole and wait for the catfish to latch onto your hand. Then you must get a really good grip and pull it out of the hole sometimes with the help of a "spotter." Big catfish can weight in at 50-60 pounds and apparently it is common for the noodler to receive cuts if they do not use a protective glove! I have heard that some noodlers put some kind of smelly bait mix on their hands, but I have been unable to find out if this is very common.

Enough of me talking about catfish noodling though here are the noodling videos.

If you know anything about this sport feel free to enlighten me with a comment.

The catfish that swallowed a basketball - Crazy fishing story #2

First I must say sorry for the lack of post yesterday - it was my birthday!

It must be the week for crazy fishing stories. After being sent the sharks love story my Dad sent me the story of a catfish out of Lake Macquarie (in NSW Australia) that ate a basketball. Once again I am pretty sure that the photos are real, but I am sure that the southern Australian catfish doesn't grow very big or look like the one in the photos. So I think the story I received with the pictures is fabricated. If you know about the true story behind the pictures I would love to hear it (please leave a comment). Here is the story I received:

True Fish Story

A guy who lives at Lake Macquarie (50 miles north of Gosford near Newcastle) saw a ball bouncing around kind of strange in the lake and went to investigate. It turned out to be a flathead catfish who had obviously tried to swallow a basketball which became stuck in its mouth!!

The fish was totally exhausted from trying to dive, but unable to because the ball would always bring him back up to the surface.

The bloke tried numerous times to get the ball out, but was unsuccessful. He finally had his wife cut the ball in order to deflate it and release the hungry catfish. You probably wouldn't have believed this, if you hadn't seen the following pictures...