What's the biggest freshwater fish you've ever seen?

[Laser]

I haven't personally seen one, but the asian bighead carp is raising quite a ruckus here in the Chicago area. The bagged a 38 pounder last week ( http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-invade22.html ) I've seen pictures of ones over 60 lbs.

 

[drbill]

It was either the ~22 ft tiger shark that nearly upended me while in a kayak several miles out in the Sea of Cortez, or the 500 pound black sea bass in Lover's Cove on Catalina that thought I wanted to mate with his sweetie (which I did, but...).

Dr. Bill

 

[FredT]

Water was just too black. Capture and recovery was done by the braille method.

When the body was finally recovered we cut an 11/12 year old boy out of a catfish that filled the game warden's pickup truck bed, after he had been gutted. The kid fell in the spillway of Canton Reservoir in Oklahoma with minimal flow over the weir. He went down when he went over the weir into the middle one but didn't come back up. Our dive club got called to help fish him out.

OTOH the county prisoners had catfish fritters for months!

FT

 

[ScubaTexan]

Some friends and I encountered a buffalo fish at Lake Travis last year. I have no idea how much he weighed, but he was the biggest fish I've ever seen in a lake dive (and one of the biggest I've seen in any kind of water). We swam toward him and he did not budge one centimeter. I wish I had gotten a picture of him.

 

[Rick Murchison]

FredT once bubbled...
Water was just too black. Capture and recovery was done by the braille method.

When the body was finally recovered we cut an 11/12 year old boy out of a catfish that filled the game warden's pickup truck bed, after he had been gutted. The kid fell in the spillway of Canton Reservoir in Oklahoma with minimal flow over the weir. He went down when he went over the weir into the middle one but didn't come back up. Our dive club got called to help fish him out.

OTOH the county prisoners had catfish fritters for months!

FT

Um hmmm ... right...
Love,
Rick

 

[drbill]

Didn't see that word although I should have figured it out from the species named. Biggest freshwater species was a muskelunge decades ago when I lived in the Midwest.

Dr. Bill

 

[mars2u]

Bagnell Dam has VERY large catfish. They basically just feed on whatever nasty stuff is around the dam. My scuba neighbor across the street said he had a couple of buddies that tried to grab a 6ft. cat by the gills and surface with it...STUPID. Any fish species over 50lbs has tremendous power under water.
Some cat at the dam have been reported at +100 lbs easily.

 

[aso4]

FredT-

Didnt your mother tell you not to fib? I have a hard time believeing anything you say out there in Okie land. Whats next a story about a 22 foot tiger shark??? Come on yankee.

Aaron

 

[Dee]

You apparently don't know FredT! He doesn't tell fish tails and I wouldn't be surprised if he had pictures!

 

[aso4]

You are right, I am sorry and I did not mean any disrespect I was running at the mouth, I would like to see photos.

In fact, I should not make assumptions based on geographical location, I hope Fred T does not take it personally.! I apologize, it was just hard to believe because I didnt think catfish were carnivourous. Sorry