[econjack]

I’ve heard stories of St. Louis police looking on the bottom of the Mississippi river for weapons and encountering catfish that are so big they just sit on the bottom with their mouths open and catch whatever comes along. I think I remember the stories saying these fish were over 12’ long. Does anyone have anything that confirms these fish stories?

[Joiseydude]

Yeah, a couple of years ago I hooked one of those catfish near St.Louis and it towed my boat all the way up to Minneapolis.

I took pictures, but the developers lost the film.

[Judith Anne]

Well, the paddlefish used to be plentiful in the Mississippi in MO, and they can be 7 feet long. See this wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_paddlefish

Regarding catfish, here is a nice article, excerpt below:

http://www.missourigameandfish.com/fishing/catfish-fishing/mo_aa083204a/

“The largest of our Big Three species is the blue catfish. Back when the big rivers ran wild, blue cats were probably even bigger. Historical records and anecdotal evidence appear to support such a claim. In his book, Steamboating: 65 Years on Missouri’s Rivers, a boat pilot named William Heckman wrote of a giant 315-pound blue catfish that was reportedly taken from the Missouri River in Gasconade County just after the Civil War. State archives contain an 1879 shipping invoice for a 150-pound blue catfish purchased at a St. Louis fish market. The sender was one Dr. J.G.W. Steedman, then chairman of the Missouri Fish Commission; the recipient was the U.S. National Museum of Natural History, now part of the Smithsonian Institute”

[Ghengis]

I’ve heard stories of St. Louis police looking on the bottom of the Mississippi river for weapons and encountering catfish that are so big they just sit on the bottom with their mouths open and catch whatever comes along. I think I remember the stories saying these fish were over 12’ long. Does anyone have anything that confirms these fish stories?

I have heard the same from recovery divers in the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers in SE Ohio.

[taildragger]

I don't know...

But I read somewhere of divers being so spooked the wouldn't go down and check the dams anymore.

It seems that the silt build up at the base of the dam was a great place for these giant cats. They starting nibbling at the divers and they freaked, estimates of 300 to a 500 lb-ers....

Anyone know what river and what dams this was occurring at?

[Marauder]

Outside the West Texas city of Sweetwater, there’s a lake where several scuba divers have reported seeing a monster catfish that hangs down by the dam.

Also, here’s a website with a picture of a really big one:

http://www.stripers247.com/phpBB2/showthread.php?t=7714

[Non-Sequitur]

I’ve heard stories of St. Louis police looking on the bottom of the Mississippi river for weapons and encountering catfish that are so big they just sit on the bottom with their mouths open and catch whatever comes along. I think I remember the stories saying these fish were over 12’ long. Does anyone have anything that confirms these fish stories?

It's possible, monster catfish have been taken out of the Mississippi for centuries. Mark Twain mentions 300 pound catfish in "Huck Finn". A blue catfish was caught on the Missouri some time after the Civil War that weighed in at 315. Noodlers (bare-handed fishermen) regularly land 30 and 40 pound catfish. The largest catfish landed on hook and line was a baby, just about 125 pounds. But when you stop and think about it, what the heck is going to land a 300 pound cat if it doesn't want to be landed?

[Harold Shea]

I live close to a coal-fired TVA plant,have heard stories
of divers that went down to clear the cooling intake screen
that came back up saying there were cats down there
big enough to swallow a man