Do you know what’s the best challenge that someone could face when game fishing? Well if you’ve been practicing this sport for a while then you know it’s when you face a giant fish that fights like hell. Because of this, many anglers prefer catfish as a game fish over other types. If you intend to follow me in my catfishing journey, you need to learn a little bit about this mysterious fish. So here are 8 catfish facts you should know about:
- As most people think that this is only a freshwater fish, there are actually some species that live in saltwater as well. While saltwater catfish aren’t considered very challenging to most experienced anglers because of their small size, I see that a beginner could really enjoy fishing those types of catfish.
- Catfish can survive even in the worst water conditions. They have a good sense of adaptability to their environment.
- As opposed to what many people think, the catfish is a really fast and smart fish. This is so obvious because it’s considered one of the best game fishes even to most experienced anglers.
- You can go catfishing all the time of the year and not only in a specific season (most people think it can be done only in summer). One thing to keep in mind is that catfish really hates when it’s hot, so you better choose a cloudy day or even the evening instead of fishing when the sun is in the middle of the sky (when the temperature drops down, catfish go outside from their hiding to eat).
- Catfish is the 5th most popular fish in America.
- The catfish group is actually one of the largest and most diverse groups of fish. There are over 3000 catfish species known to men.
- As most people think that catfish isn’t a poisonous fish, scientific evidence from the University of Michigan show that almost half of the catfish species are venomous. The good think is that in North America, some catfish species use their venom to mainly defend themselves from predatory fish. There have been many proofs of highly poisonous catfish that can be deadly to human in other parts of the world.
- The world’s biggest catfish was caught in Northern Thailand in 2005. This giant Mekong catfish weighs 646 pounds and measured 9 feet long. In the US, Greg Bernal and his girlfriend Janet Momphard has made a record of catching a 130 pound, 57 inches blue catfish, which is considered a world record for this species.
Chris is a catfishing fan. He enjoys catching big catfish as well as teaching other people how to do the same. If you want to learn more about this fish, check out: catfish facts. For more information regarding species that live in saltwater, check out: saltwater catfish
Article Source: Chris Coen
Image By Ramon FVelasquez – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20842596