[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”

[Osage Orange]

My guess is there are some monster blue cats out there...in the 150 lb range for sure. Maybe a bit bigger.....

The lake record at lake Texoma...is around 122 lbs.

I've seen flat heads in the low hundreds....

[Justice Department]

WORLD RECORD for BLUE CATFISH:

150 lbs (5' - 5") caught in the Kansas River in Lawrence, Kansas in 1910 by Doug Smith.

WORLD RECORD for BLUE CATFISH: ( caught using a rod & reel )

124 lbs (4' - 10") caught in the Mississippi River in Alton, Illinois on 5-22-05 by Tim Pruitt.

WORLD RECORD for FLATHEAD CATFISH:

154 lbs (5' - 7") caught in Santee Cooper Reservoir in Pineville, South Carolina in 2004 by Tom Frederick.

WORLD RECORD for FLATHEAD CATFISH: ( caught using a rod & reel )

123.9 lbs (5' - 1") caught in Elk City Reservoir, Kansas on 5-14-98 by Ken Paulie.

WORLD RECORD for CHANNEL CATFISH:

63 lbs (48") caught in Choctawhatchee River in Ponce de Leon, Florida on 11-6-06 by Doyle Lee Ammons.