Monster Catfish !

[Mugil]

Seems I can only post one pic per post.
The last one is the flathead catfish, this one (hopefully) is the blue catfish.

[el_carpo]

Thanks for the pics Mugil. The biggest flathead cat caught by anyone I know personally (my brother) was 15 pounds. I've seen big ones floating dead before but not anywhere near as big as that monster! I've only caught little ones and have never caught a blue (biggest species here). The most common catfish near me is the "Channel cat." We mostly use chicken liver for bait. They look like blues but have little black dots on them. They get big too but not as large as the others. Thanks again for the pics. That was cool to see! Do you or anyone else over there target cats? What kinds do you have?

[Mugil]

El-carpo
Catfish aren’t particularly popular in Australia. Briefly we have a few varieties of eel-tail catfish, one, the tandanus is reasonably common in the east although in decline due to many factors and is actually protected in some areas. It grows to about 5 or 6lb and is one of the more sought after species. A very similar species lives in Western Australia and is called a freshwater cobbler.
There is also a saltwater eeltailed catfish (also called cobbler in WA) , grows to about the same size is more elongated, but not fished for except in WA where they are quite highly regarded.
In the northern half of Australia there are a few types of fork tail catfish (similar in appearance to your flathead cat). They grow to about 20lb and are generally regarded as a nuisance fish although they are quite ok to eat. They live in fresh or saltwater.
One species of saltwater forktail catfish grows to about 30lb or more and is known as either golden catfish or salmon catfish. Again they are regarded as a nuisance although they are IMHO one of the toughest fighting fish in Australia and quite ok to eat.
You’ll probably find pics of all on the net.
Cheers

[el_carpo]

Thanks for the info. Mugil.

[saen]

well its some nice pics

as most know im from south africa and we used to catch them all the time
and it's "BARBER" catfish
the one's that big is a prized catch but the common catch is about a 1m long
weve caught 2 that big weighed around 90kg

and they put up a huge fight

as for bait, we use dead birds, frogs (platana's) chicken liver anything like that

i havent seen one of them for about 7years,its really good to see!!!!

Regards

JJ

[bazzaman]

Holy Shit!!!! Im meaning to mugil, you have actually eaten a catfish before!!! Now thats desperate for feed!! No thankyou, would never consider it! And why would anyone waste their time catchin those ugly pests!!! Im sure they would taste like shit!! Am i the only one thinkin this but i would rather be chasin whiting or bream and i thought that was boring!!! heheheheheh sorry guys!!

Cheers
Shane

[Mugil]

An interesting if not confusing post there Shane. You’ve never eaten catfish but you’re sure they taste like shit. How do you know???? I would hope you don’t regularly eat the other!.
Eel tail cats (tandanus or jewfish) are one of the more highly regarded edible inland species or you could ask anyone from WA about the popularity (and market price) of cobbler over there.
Even forkies are ok, not great but ok, which is all I said before. Maybe you should try one sometime then you could reply with more qualification.
Cheers
Mugil

[wj123456]

[bazzaman]

nah mate just the slime and the shit they eat im sure that theyll taste the same as what they eat! 8) 8) 8) Reffering to forkies here mugil!! Mate the day i eat a catfish is the day i give up fishing!! And the answer to that one if your unsure IS NEVER!!!!........Im more of a fisherman to catch decent fish like snapper and parrot and the likes to bring myself low enough to eat a catty!! Food for thought !! cheers mate and enjoy the catties!! heheheeee

Cheers Shane

[rickraider]

yeah i have eaten them and i will eat just about anything but they taste like CRAP

[bazzaman]

8)

[bruce4x4]

First of all u are still fishing
And now after catching a few jewfish u fillet and skin
and place in hot pan with some butter 3 or 4 minutes both sides
heaps of leamon salt and beautiful [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[bassfisher02]

my uncle has done this type of fishing. he would dip his hands in chicken liver then wake in the water and feel around for logs and then feel for fish. then when they locked on to his hands he would pull them up

[Kunnara]

If you ask me the guys in the photo's don't seem to be putting in too much effort to lift those monsters...something fishy going on there!!!!!

[Paul_C]

Holy Shit!!!! #Im meaning to mugil, you have actually eaten a catfish before!!! #Now thats desperate for feed!! #No thankyou, would never consider it! #And why would anyone waste their time catchin those ugly pests!!! #Im sure they would taste like shit!! #Am i the only one thinkin this but i would rather be chasin whiting or bream and i thought that was boring!!! heheheheheh sorry guys!!

Cheers
Shane

Shane,

I've never eaten a cattie of any type either, but i'm a freshwater nut and i'm gonna take the otherside, if you can catch a Snapper, Bream, Whiting or even a Parrot fish in the Thompson River, or perhaps The Barcoo, or any other western Qld creek or river than you, my friend, are a legend. #

Do you think that everyone has access to the old Briny within a half hour drive of home. #??? ??? ???

Perhaps you should broaden your horizons and crawl out of the hole you live in, there's a whole other world out there. #

PC