Urban Legends
The blue catfish is the largest species of catfish in the United States, and is surrounded by mystery, legend, and myth. It is often told that these fish can reach astonishing sizes of over 8 ft. in length (96 inches, or about 2.4 meters) but these observations are often overestimates by divers who probably only saw 5 ft. and 130 lbs. specimens, though there are unconfirmed reports of 200 lbs. specimens. This is unlikely since this would mean the catfish would have to gain 5 lbs. annually for their entire life as well as avoid capture for 40 years. Early in the United States these sizes may have been possible, but are probably rare at best in modern times. The best places to find these giants are below large dams, or waterfalls, dams such as the Chickamauga Dam and many others along the Tennessee River are often noted for their large catfish.
Because of their increasing rarity, it is often requested that any fish over 20 lbs. (10 kilograms) be released unharmed to help to retain the population of large specimens, and any fish under 5 lbs should also be released unharmed to grow to maturity. The normal eating size for these fish is between 5 and 20 lbs, and anything within this range can make an outstanding meal, which is often why fishermen specifically target this species.
Read more about this topic: Blue Catfish
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