Great. I stopped swimming in the ocean because of “Jaws”. I was stopped from swimming in the Nile because of Schistosomiasis. I cannot swim in the Amazon because of Piranha. I did not dare swim in the rivers of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica because of crocodiles. I could not swim in Andean lakes because they are too damn cold. I do not swim in public pools because a certain type of folk urinate in them.
Now you tell me I cannot swim in some random lazy stream because that bestial leviathan will be swimming alongside me?
JeffAugust 13, 2021, 1:24 AM
That was a Wels catfish. They’re native to Eastern Europe and invasive in Western Europe. They’re not in the United States, yet……
gwbnycAugust 13, 2021, 2:59 AM
oh, so it’s castin’ fer minners y’talkin’ about…
mmackAugust 13, 2021, 3:34 AM
If that’s the one he caught, I’d hate like Hell to see the one that got away. 😳
ghostsniperAugust 13, 2021, 4:25 AM
4 foot long?
maybe 30 lbs?
gwbnycAugust 13, 2021, 4:46 AM
Beats four I’d reckon; five foot+.
…after all, this is a fish story.
AggieAugust 13, 2021, 5:46 AM
“It’s a Wels Catfish…”. As the story goes, the first guy to hook one stood up in his boat and was hollering : “Well, SH*T!!” but he fell in the water and got eaten before he could get it out.
I’ve never seen a catfish yet that wasn’t a notorious predator and killer. I caught one that weighed in the vicinity of 12 lbs earlier in the year on a 5 wt Sage fly rod using one of my own shrimp imitators and he hit it like a freight train. It took 20 minutes or more to land him and I paid my respects by frying his ass the next evening.
Casey KlahnAugust 13, 2021, 10:03 AM
After some time in jungles, I am a firm believer in giant animals. Also, here in eastern WA some giants exist.
I could never find the trigger on a fishing pole and so I skipped that sport.
Mike Austin, you forgot to mention river sharks in Costa Rica. They actually have those because the Rio San Juan is sea water. I once saw a 15′ croc on a tributary of that river. Also, a giant scorpion whose tail was as big around as a beer can. He gave me the shivers.
PA CatAugust 13, 2021, 10:31 AM
Just for ghost– here is a video of the wels catfish that live in the cooling ponds around what’s left of the Chernobyl power plant. The narrator says that the catfish at 0:24 is 2 m or 6′ long, and that it’s not mutated– the catfish in these ponds can grow to be humongous because they have no predators. Tourists are not allowed to fish in the ponds, but they can feed bread to the catfish– who get heavy as well as long. This one could weigh as much as 120 pounds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cEj8R5m3AI&ab_channel=bionerd23
I’m thinking that Hunter Biden would make an excellent dinner for the Chernobyl catfish.
Anybody know if he landed the cat? Pole didn’t look up to the job.
We have a pool. It’s three ft deep, I blow it up! We spend 50.00 yearly for a new one. Wife’s still fit and good looking. Likes to tan in the privacy of our back yard.
95 plus, is a ball buster above 4200 ft.
FredAugust 13, 2021, 11:01 AM
I’d like to see Hannah Baron tackle that one! (ok, maybe not. Be careful Hannah!)
timAugust 13, 2021, 1:00 PM
Most fishing poles are @6-1/2′ – 7′, so as a reference, taking into account distance from camera…it’s feeking bigger than you think.
Show of hands who’d get in water with that fell’a.
Dave JenkinsAugust 13, 2021, 1:48 PM
BTW, Those baits with the spinning tail are called whopper ploppers…the chicoms are now marketing knock offs available even on amazon of course.
JackAugust 13, 2021, 5:17 PM
Actually Dave, there is a company that makes baby duck lures from a hard plastic. I live on a large lake and I have fished several but I’ve never had a fish make a pass at it. They have little duck looking feet on spindles that churn the water during a retrieve but I think the lure would be more realistic if it was made from a softer plastic.
Mike AustinAugust 14, 2021, 11:59 AM
Dear Casey Klahn:
You are so right.
I had a run in with those sharks while on one of my solo backpacking journeys to Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula. I was attempting to cross three rivers in six hours along a beach that lead to La Sirena ranger station. The problem was that each river emptied into the ocean; and besides they were very saline as the sea would rush in as the tide came in. During high tide they were impassable, so I had to time it just right to safely cross each river. I almost made it.
When I got to the third river, it was already beginning to swell as high tide was in full sway. I decided to attempt a crossing. Bad idea. I was scarcely 20 feet across when the bottom of the river fell away and found myself in about 30 feet of water, backpack and all. To my horror I was surrounded by a bunch of those damned sharks.
To this day I have no idea how I made it back to the safety of the riverbank. Truly God was watching over this fool.
Six hours later when the tide was completely out, I crossed safely.
As for scorpions: Once I got to La Sirena ranger station, I set up camp and went to bargain with the rangers for some rice and beans. As I was chatting with one on the outside of the station I felt a thud on my hat. I looked down at the ground to find that a large yellow scorpion and fallen off the station’s roof, landed on my hat and then to the ground. On its back were dozens of baby scorpions clinging to their mother. The ranger looked at me and said, “That was close!” Yes it was.
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
What. In the Sam Hill. Is that?!?
Great. I stopped swimming in the ocean because of “Jaws”. I was stopped from swimming in the Nile because of Schistosomiasis. I cannot swim in the Amazon because of Piranha. I did not dare swim in the rivers of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica because of crocodiles. I could not swim in Andean lakes because they are too damn cold. I do not swim in public pools because a certain type of folk urinate in them.
Now you tell me I cannot swim in some random lazy stream because that bestial leviathan will be swimming alongside me?
That was a Wels catfish. They’re native to Eastern Europe and invasive in Western Europe. They’re not in the United States, yet……
oh, so it’s castin’ fer minners y’talkin’ about…
If that’s the one he caught, I’d hate like Hell to see the one that got away. 😳
4 foot long?
maybe 30 lbs?
Beats four I’d reckon; five foot+.
…after all, this is a fish story.
“It’s a Wels Catfish…”. As the story goes, the first guy to hook one stood up in his boat and was hollering : “Well, SH*T!!” but he fell in the water and got eaten before he could get it out.
Starting at 2:09
https://youtu.be/UaEC-lWSlmI
Aggie
I believe another name for this fish is “sheatfish”.
-so, dang close to the truth.
Here’s the embed- sorry for the first post-
Fish on!
Is there also a Elca catfish?
Who caught who?
Excellent info on this fish, including recipe’s here:
https://tastycraze.com/n7-57885-Wels_Catfish
I’ve never seen a catfish yet that wasn’t a notorious predator and killer. I caught one that weighed in the vicinity of 12 lbs earlier in the year on a 5 wt Sage fly rod using one of my own shrimp imitators and he hit it like a freight train. It took 20 minutes or more to land him and I paid my respects by frying his ass the next evening.
After some time in jungles, I am a firm believer in giant animals. Also, here in eastern WA some giants exist.
I could never find the trigger on a fishing pole and so I skipped that sport.
Mike Austin, you forgot to mention river sharks in Costa Rica. They actually have those because the Rio San Juan is sea water. I once saw a 15′ croc on a tributary of that river. Also, a giant scorpion whose tail was as big around as a beer can. He gave me the shivers.
Just for ghost– here is a video of the wels catfish that live in the cooling ponds around what’s left of the Chernobyl power plant. The narrator says that the catfish at 0:24 is 2 m or 6′ long, and that it’s not mutated– the catfish in these ponds can grow to be humongous because they have no predators. Tourists are not allowed to fish in the ponds, but they can feed bread to the catfish– who get heavy as well as long. This one could weigh as much as 120 pounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cEj8R5m3AI&ab_channel=bionerd23
I’m thinking that Hunter Biden would make an excellent dinner for the Chernobyl catfish.
Anybody know if he landed the cat? Pole didn’t look up to the job.
We have a pool. It’s three ft deep, I blow it up! We spend 50.00 yearly for a new one. Wife’s still fit and good looking. Likes to tan in the privacy of our back yard.
95 plus, is a ball buster above 4200 ft.
I’d like to see Hannah Baron tackle that one! (ok, maybe not. Be careful Hannah!)
Most fishing poles are @6-1/2′ – 7′, so as a reference, taking into account distance from camera…it’s feeking bigger than you think.
Show of hands who’d get in water with that fell’a.
BTW, Those baits with the spinning tail are called whopper ploppers…the chicoms are now marketing knock offs available even on amazon of course.
Actually Dave, there is a company that makes baby duck lures from a hard plastic. I live on a large lake and I have fished several but I’ve never had a fish make a pass at it. They have little duck looking feet on spindles that churn the water during a retrieve but I think the lure would be more realistic if it was made from a softer plastic.
Dear Casey Klahn:
You are so right.
I had a run in with those sharks while on one of my solo backpacking journeys to Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula. I was attempting to cross three rivers in six hours along a beach that lead to La Sirena ranger station. The problem was that each river emptied into the ocean; and besides they were very saline as the sea would rush in as the tide came in. During high tide they were impassable, so I had to time it just right to safely cross each river. I almost made it.
When I got to the third river, it was already beginning to swell as high tide was in full sway. I decided to attempt a crossing. Bad idea. I was scarcely 20 feet across when the bottom of the river fell away and found myself in about 30 feet of water, backpack and all. To my horror I was surrounded by a bunch of those damned sharks.
To this day I have no idea how I made it back to the safety of the riverbank. Truly God was watching over this fool.
Six hours later when the tide was completely out, I crossed safely.
As for scorpions: Once I got to La Sirena ranger station, I set up camp and went to bargain with the rangers for some rice and beans. As I was chatting with one on the outside of the station I felt a thud on my hat. I looked down at the ground to find that a large yellow scorpion and fallen off the station’s roof, landed on my hat and then to the ground. On its back were dozens of baby scorpions clinging to their mother. The ranger looked at me and said, “That was close!” Yes it was.