# rumors of huge cats in local lake



## Cognition (Oct 14, 2009)

I've heard rumors of divers in a local lake(lake harrington) saying there are catfish big enough to swallow a VW beetle... i doubt this, but it never hurts to ask the ever-knowing ppl here on this awsome forum.... so could that be possible? like a 12ft+ catfish?


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Well, so far the largest cat caught in Kentucky was a 5ft long, 123lbs ... the largest in the US I believe is the blue catfish, 58 inches and 124 lbs. At least according to Field and Stream.


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## Cognition (Oct 14, 2009)

i see, thats still crazy huge


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## gnomemagi (Jun 13, 2009)

There are larger species in Europe that have been measured around 150-160 lbs.


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## Oscar Madison (Mar 24, 2008)

Some in the Amazon have been known to swallow children.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Oh yeah, Southeast Asia and Europe have the two largest cats known ... that are much much larger than their american cousins.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworl ... st+Catfish


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## ACC in NC (Dec 27, 2003)

Mekong Catfish from the Mekong River 646 pounds >>> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8404622/

Pangasianodon gigas (Mekong Catfish) Planet Catfish >>> http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/im ... ge_id=6202

I know some people might mistake a Sturgeon for a catfish. Things can seem bigger than they are under water.

Sturgeon >>> http://media.photobucket.com/image/reco ... eon_lg.jpg


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## sasquatch-exists (Feb 25, 2009)

I love the amazon!!! 

It's been rumored that the giant fresh water stingray can actually achieve sizes rivaling that of the great Mekong Catfish! 



> I know some people might mistake a Sturgeon for a catfish. Things can seem bigger than they are under water.


yea true, but their still FREAKIN HUGE!!! :lol:

Sturgeons are also a semi-salt water fish, they gather a majority of their food from the ocean.


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## Lancerlot (Feb 22, 2006)

I don't know biggest but I know deadliest. The only catfish in the world to actually prey and hunt humans. "The Goonch Catfish"

http://animal.discovery.com/fish/river- ... icture.jpg





There was a 1hour episode on discovery on how this fish dragging people down to the bottom of the river drowned them then proceeded to rip them apart.

Look at the teeth on this small one.


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## webgirl74 (Jan 30, 2009)

sasquatch-exists said:


> > I know some people might mistake a Sturgeon for a catfish. Things can seem bigger than they are under water.
> 
> 
> yea true, but their still FREAKIN HUGE!!! :lol:
> ...


Don't 100% agree with you on sturgeon gathering most of its food from the ocean. I used to live in British Columbia, Canada, and in the Fraser River is a pretty good population of sturgeon. For the most part, they feed on dead salmon and salmon eggs in the river. My husband and I have a good friend who is a fishing guide out there and he is part of a tagging program. Some fish have been fitted with transmitters and these fish have been found to spend the vast majority of their time in the river. They don't have a large mouth though, but rather a sort of retractable feeding tube, sort of like a sucker. They don't have teeth, but bony ridges inside their mouth to crush food. No way even a big one could suck up a human! They are pretty impressive fish though. Here is a picture of a 10+ footer that was recently caught by him and some of his clients.


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## sasquatch-exists (Feb 25, 2009)

Salmon are salt water fish, and come inland to spawn, so the sturgeons don't need to go to the ocean for their primary food source, in Canada.
but sturgeons live all over the place so their behavior is often times dictated by their location.
I'm gonna try to find some more info on them encase I'm wrong.


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## webgirl74 (Jan 30, 2009)

Sasquatch-exists, true...I didn't take into consideration that there are sturgeon all over the world and that some populations may very well migrate to where the food source is. I would think that sturgeon (of the caviar variety!) do live in salt water much of their lives. I was just thinking of the white sturgeon that inhabit the inland rivers/lakes in North America. That being said, there are lake dwelling sturgeon as well that never touch salt water, although these do not tend to grow as large as the species that have ready access to salt water. I just noticed that my pic did not load either. Anyone know what I did wrong?


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

If you scroll down the page your pic is hosted on there is a "post in forum" link... which I've used below...



Oh, and having grown up on the Great Lakes, you both sound correct. Many Sturgeon will spend much of their lives in the Ocean, some will stay primarily (or totally) in fresh waters...

But they are not considered "freshwater" fish which is why a goliath Sturgeon is not the largest "freshwater" fish...

Also something to keep in mind, everyone in the world who is willing to refer to the largest fish they even seenâ€¦ is exaggeratingâ€¦ everyoneâ€¦

lol


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## sasquatch-exists (Feb 25, 2009)

haha! there u are! I was thinking of the Atlantic sturgeon, (the caviar variety :wink: ).
I learned a lot when searching for some facts about them!!! 



> Also something to keep in mind, everyone in the world who is willing to refer to the largest fish they even seenâ€¦ is exaggeratingâ€¦ everyoneâ€¦


I think I know what your saying and I agree, but i'm still not totally sure. :-?


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Also remember there are multiple species of sturgeon, some are pure fresh water and others aren't. So it depends on the species you are talking about.


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

dwarfpike said:


> Also remember there are multiple species of sturgeon, some are pure fresh water and others aren't. So it depends on the species you are talking about.


There are many species of purely fresh water sturgeon.


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