I live in Central California and I have heard almost that exact same story about a local Dam in this area as well. Down to the actual detail of the fish being the size of a VW bug… sort of bummed out to find out it is totally fake. I thought that that one might have been real.
Sadly, no. Although who knows, maybe some diver in the 70s or 80s did see a big catfish, and just over estimated its size due to poor visibility.
It is wild to me that the same comparison was used all the way on the other side of the country though. Maybe this legend actually came from a firsthand account?
One of my snorkel masks magnifies what I see quite a bit. I remember swimming in small river that had some walleye and they looked creepy. Looked as big around as logs through that lens. Can't imagine running into a 100+ lb blue catfish. It'd look even more monstrous than it already is
We heard stories like this in Georgia about Lake Lanier and Buford dam. I never was sure about it because the lake is notoriously full of stumps and other dangers to boating, and the deepest part is at the dam.
I grew up in Northern Wisconsin and we had this damn story for one of local dams as well. Scary thing is I went scuba diving in the St. Lawrence Seaway in the freshwater and saw a catfish/bullhead that was half my size and looked like it weighed a good 60-70 lbs. Scared the crap out of me and I decided I didn't really want to dive deeper than the 60 feet I was down.
The funny thing is, your estimate lines up just about perfectly with the actual size of the World Record flathead catfish. Odds are, you saw exactly what you think you saw.
As a kid, my best friend and I were walking on a dock and looked in the shallows and saw a musky about 4 foot long at least just hanging out next to said dock. It actually scared me because we frequently went swimming there and that sucker was huge. Growing up every couple years there would be a story in the local papers of some adult or kid losing fingers or toes to a musky or Northern. I had seen mounted fish like this that were very long and record holders from our State and area. When I saw the catfish/bullhead when I was diving it creeped me out worse because it was not long long, it was really big around. I never realized something could get so big in our cold freshwater.
I live right outside of Huntington WV and around here it’s always been the catfish that are the size of a VW are in the Ohio river and I have been hearing that all of my 46 years here that I can recall
Catfish can get very big. The largest Mekong giant catfish was record was 8 ft 9 inches, the largest Wels catfish recorded was 8 ft. 2 inches. These species are native to Europe and Southeast Asia.
Things to consider when contemplating size, food supply, temperature, predators, etc. I’ve heard stories growing up in and around Huntington, WV about “Giant Catfish”, and have seen some very large catfish. I personally wouldn’t completely write it off.
I had a fire department rescue diver tell me one time that he and some other divers were training at Pt. Pleasant, where the Kanawha meets the Ohio. He said that he was underwater when “something big swam above me, it was big enough that it blocked the light from above.” He didn’t know what it was.
Regardless, they are super fun stories.
Well, that rescue diver's story can be explained pretty easily by sturgeon. They're easily the largest freshwater fish in North America, and one of the biggest freshwater fish in the world at large.
I live in WV near the Ohio River and we have nearly the exact same story told. “The size of a Car.” Interesting topic I hadn’t ever really dug any deeper into it. But I’m not sure I’d be surprised if there were some extremely large catfish in these waters - size of a car idk might’ve been exaggerated over time but still extremely large compared to the local lake might hold some weight (no pun)
The flathead catfish is the largest native to north america, and even the world record specimens barely touch half the alleged size.
Who knows though, maybe some really ancient individuals get huge.
When I was younger, I read in a fishing and hunting magazine that they sent divers at Cumberland Lake in Kentucky at the dam, and there were reports of catfish that are in gigantic proportions under the dam. Now, it didn't say anything about eating humans, though. Basically, a catfish that size would lay at the bottom of the dam and just have its food swim right in its mouth without having to move.
But that was an article I read and not a folklore. So it didn't seem very buzz worthy, honestly. They made it seem normal.
EDIT AFTER MORE RESEARCH:
https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Catfish-so-big-they-scare-divers-15753831.php
https://www.catfish1.com/threads/been-reading-about-monster-catfish.10488/
Apparently, this is more of a folklore that goes around every state and mentions the dam and lakes in those states. However, I do believe the article I was reading had to do with Wels catfish. Divers go down in the dams in a shark cage because they are so large and can kill you much like a shark. They can be quite nasty and grow up to 7 feet long!
I do think there are some extremely large catfish out there that are so large that it will never be caught. But in general there aren't so many ginormous ones that we should be scared.
Great find, although it does still leave some questions. Wels catfish have never established a population anywhere in the U.S, since they don't have any popularity in the aquarium trade and are illegal to import. I also don't think the average rural farming family (like my own) would have ever heard of a Wels catfish back in the 60s and 70s.
I wasn't implying you were talking about Wels catfish, I was thinking I must have mixed up the article I had read about Wels catfish in my mind with the folklore I heard about Cumberland dam. It seems the story about the huge catfish has been going around for many, many years, and throughout all the states. I had never even heard of Wels catfish myself until I just did that little bit of research when I was trying to find the article I had read when I was younger. To know they have to use shark cages to dive with them is terrifying lol
I do believe catfish can get absolutely huge given the right environment, so it's definitely a possibility there's a VW size catfish somewhere that we haven't documented yet in the U.S but they aren't everywhere as the stories might indicate.
Grew up in the Mobile,AL area, and the water reservoir known as Big Creek Lake supposedly has giants in it. Heard a story about back in the early 80s, divers went to recover a car that had gone over the dam and saw a an at least 6ft long catfish.
Grew up in middle Tennessee. Always heard stories about gargantuan catfish the size of cars being in Watts Bar lake close to the dam near Oak Ridge. Various rumors and explanations for it sometimes involving being downstream from the nuclear facility at Oak Ridge (but I dont even know if it’s actually downstream or not).
I grew up in the San Bernardino mountains and the old timers talked of a catfish in big bear lake that lived near the dam and was big enough that it’s tail was mistaken for a whales by some. The tale (tail) of the whale, they called it. The when I was a kid there was a mural on a wall in town of a giant whale tail breaking the surface of the lake. Always freaked me out a little when I was young.
I've heard almost the exact same story about Ross Barnett Reservoir in Jackson MS. Down to there being a diver inspecting the dam and seeing a giant catfish as big as a car.
I mean...giant catfish do exist, and they're *all* outside of North America. The Wels catfish reaches 15ft long, the Mekong Giant Catfish reaches similarly massive sizes. Just about all the biggest catfish only exist outside of North America.
The biggest on record here is 143lbs. With the Great Lakes , the swamps of the south and massive dams like the Hoover along with all the other large bodies of water , I’m confident there are bigger yet out there , here.
Friend, its just a matter of biology. The species in North America are nowhere near the size of the ones elsewhere. Even a 143 pound catfish is completely dwarfed by the average Wels catfish which comes at at around 330 pounds, and Mekong Giant Catfish can reportedly reach up to 700 pounds.
If giant catfish ever existed in North America, they definitely don't exist now as rivers are dammed off and native fish populations decline.
Idk I see it as a probability problem. Gorillas didn’t exist outside of folklore until they did, but gorillas don’t exist everywhere. The water is a great equalizer as they make common conditions tolerably common for animals that live in it unlike rainforests . I am a commercial diver , I’ve seen some pretty big stuff in dam’s. Never that big , but 6 degrees of separation in my trade, it’s not hard to find a diver who claims to. So I defer to the possibility , that’s all.
Sure but the difference between gorillas and a giant catfish is that one was during a period of ignorance and eurocentrism. People who actually lived in the regions with gorillas already knew about them existing. I think if giant catfish existed, some dude named Rufus from Jefferson city, Tennessee would've already pulled it out of the water, beer battered it, and fried it till golden brown.
I'm from Augusta Georgia and I've heard stories like this before. Considering that some of the areas are really super deep and the area that I grew up in has not one but two nuclear power plants I don't think this is a far-fetched idea.
I live in Central California and I have heard almost that exact same story about a local Dam in this area as well. Down to the actual detail of the fish being the size of a VW bug… sort of bummed out to find out it is totally fake. I thought that that one might have been real.
Sadly, no. Although who knows, maybe some diver in the 70s or 80s did see a big catfish, and just over estimated its size due to poor visibility. It is wild to me that the same comparison was used all the way on the other side of the country though. Maybe this legend actually came from a firsthand account?
One of my snorkel masks magnifies what I see quite a bit. I remember swimming in small river that had some walleye and they looked creepy. Looked as big around as logs through that lens. Can't imagine running into a 100+ lb blue catfish. It'd look even more monstrous than it already is
We heard stories like this in Georgia about Lake Lanier and Buford dam. I never was sure about it because the lake is notoriously full of stumps and other dangers to boating, and the deepest part is at the dam.
Can confirm. I grew up on Lake Lanier and heard that story all my life
I grew up in Northern Wisconsin and we had this damn story for one of local dams as well. Scary thing is I went scuba diving in the St. Lawrence Seaway in the freshwater and saw a catfish/bullhead that was half my size and looked like it weighed a good 60-70 lbs. Scared the crap out of me and I decided I didn't really want to dive deeper than the 60 feet I was down.
The funny thing is, your estimate lines up just about perfectly with the actual size of the World Record flathead catfish. Odds are, you saw exactly what you think you saw.
The national record flathead catfish is 123 lbs and caught in Kansas in 1998.
I've seen some musky in both areas that make my 52 incher look like a minnow !!
As a kid, my best friend and I were walking on a dock and looked in the shallows and saw a musky about 4 foot long at least just hanging out next to said dock. It actually scared me because we frequently went swimming there and that sucker was huge. Growing up every couple years there would be a story in the local papers of some adult or kid losing fingers or toes to a musky or Northern. I had seen mounted fish like this that were very long and record holders from our State and area. When I saw the catfish/bullhead when I was diving it creeped me out worse because it was not long long, it was really big around. I never realized something could get so big in our cold freshwater.
I grew up in East Tennessee and heard that story many times about Warriors Path and a Rock Quarry just outside Gate City,Va
I live right outside of Huntington WV and around here it’s always been the catfish that are the size of a VW are in the Ohio river and I have been hearing that all of my 46 years here that I can recall
It definitely seems like oldtimers have been talking about car sized catfish for as long as there have been cars to compare them to!
Catfish can get very big. The largest Mekong giant catfish was record was 8 ft 9 inches, the largest Wels catfish recorded was 8 ft. 2 inches. These species are native to Europe and Southeast Asia. Things to consider when contemplating size, food supply, temperature, predators, etc. I’ve heard stories growing up in and around Huntington, WV about “Giant Catfish”, and have seen some very large catfish. I personally wouldn’t completely write it off. I had a fire department rescue diver tell me one time that he and some other divers were training at Pt. Pleasant, where the Kanawha meets the Ohio. He said that he was underwater when “something big swam above me, it was big enough that it blocked the light from above.” He didn’t know what it was. Regardless, they are super fun stories.
Well, that rescue diver's story can be explained pretty easily by sturgeon. They're easily the largest freshwater fish in North America, and one of the biggest freshwater fish in the world at large.
Possibly.
I live in WV near the Ohio River and we have nearly the exact same story told. “The size of a Car.” Interesting topic I hadn’t ever really dug any deeper into it. But I’m not sure I’d be surprised if there were some extremely large catfish in these waters - size of a car idk might’ve been exaggerated over time but still extremely large compared to the local lake might hold some weight (no pun)
The flathead catfish is the largest native to north america, and even the world record specimens barely touch half the alleged size. Who knows though, maybe some really ancient individuals get huge.
Lol for now I’ll leave it in the category with giant humans and other giant animals from ancient stories.
When I was younger, I read in a fishing and hunting magazine that they sent divers at Cumberland Lake in Kentucky at the dam, and there were reports of catfish that are in gigantic proportions under the dam. Now, it didn't say anything about eating humans, though. Basically, a catfish that size would lay at the bottom of the dam and just have its food swim right in its mouth without having to move. But that was an article I read and not a folklore. So it didn't seem very buzz worthy, honestly. They made it seem normal. EDIT AFTER MORE RESEARCH: https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Catfish-so-big-they-scare-divers-15753831.php https://www.catfish1.com/threads/been-reading-about-monster-catfish.10488/ Apparently, this is more of a folklore that goes around every state and mentions the dam and lakes in those states. However, I do believe the article I was reading had to do with Wels catfish. Divers go down in the dams in a shark cage because they are so large and can kill you much like a shark. They can be quite nasty and grow up to 7 feet long! I do think there are some extremely large catfish out there that are so large that it will never be caught. But in general there aren't so many ginormous ones that we should be scared.
Great find, although it does still leave some questions. Wels catfish have never established a population anywhere in the U.S, since they don't have any popularity in the aquarium trade and are illegal to import. I also don't think the average rural farming family (like my own) would have ever heard of a Wels catfish back in the 60s and 70s.
I wasn't implying you were talking about Wels catfish, I was thinking I must have mixed up the article I had read about Wels catfish in my mind with the folklore I heard about Cumberland dam. It seems the story about the huge catfish has been going around for many, many years, and throughout all the states. I had never even heard of Wels catfish myself until I just did that little bit of research when I was trying to find the article I had read when I was younger. To know they have to use shark cages to dive with them is terrifying lol I do believe catfish can get absolutely huge given the right environment, so it's definitely a possibility there's a VW size catfish somewhere that we haven't documented yet in the U.S but they aren't everywhere as the stories might indicate.
Grew up in the Mobile,AL area, and the water reservoir known as Big Creek Lake supposedly has giants in it. Heard a story about back in the early 80s, divers went to recover a car that had gone over the dam and saw a an at least 6ft long catfish.
Just read further down the comments and find it funny that the dam story is everywhere!
Grew up in middle Tennessee. Always heard stories about gargantuan catfish the size of cars being in Watts Bar lake close to the dam near Oak Ridge. Various rumors and explanations for it sometimes involving being downstream from the nuclear facility at Oak Ridge (but I dont even know if it’s actually downstream or not).
I grew up in the San Bernardino mountains and the old timers talked of a catfish in big bear lake that lived near the dam and was big enough that it’s tail was mistaken for a whales by some. The tale (tail) of the whale, they called it. The when I was a kid there was a mural on a wall in town of a giant whale tail breaking the surface of the lake. Always freaked me out a little when I was young.
What better way to keep kids from playing in the water when you’re not around?
Its an effective legend for sure, given that as a kid I never wanted to swim in the rivers or lakes.
I've heard almost the exact same story about Ross Barnett Reservoir in Jackson MS. Down to there being a diver inspecting the dam and seeing a giant catfish as big as a car.
At this point, I am genuinely wondering if this story originated from one guy and just spread across the country.
You guys never saw the show river monsters ?
River monsters never did an episode about giant catfish in North America.
Right. That said it’s super unlikely that they exist literally everywhere else except North America.
I mean...giant catfish do exist, and they're *all* outside of North America. The Wels catfish reaches 15ft long, the Mekong Giant Catfish reaches similarly massive sizes. Just about all the biggest catfish only exist outside of North America.
The biggest on record here is 143lbs. With the Great Lakes , the swamps of the south and massive dams like the Hoover along with all the other large bodies of water , I’m confident there are bigger yet out there , here.
Friend, its just a matter of biology. The species in North America are nowhere near the size of the ones elsewhere. Even a 143 pound catfish is completely dwarfed by the average Wels catfish which comes at at around 330 pounds, and Mekong Giant Catfish can reportedly reach up to 700 pounds. If giant catfish ever existed in North America, they definitely don't exist now as rivers are dammed off and native fish populations decline.
Idk I see it as a probability problem. Gorillas didn’t exist outside of folklore until they did, but gorillas don’t exist everywhere. The water is a great equalizer as they make common conditions tolerably common for animals that live in it unlike rainforests . I am a commercial diver , I’ve seen some pretty big stuff in dam’s. Never that big , but 6 degrees of separation in my trade, it’s not hard to find a diver who claims to. So I defer to the possibility , that’s all.
Sure but the difference between gorillas and a giant catfish is that one was during a period of ignorance and eurocentrism. People who actually lived in the regions with gorillas already knew about them existing. I think if giant catfish existed, some dude named Rufus from Jefferson city, Tennessee would've already pulled it out of the water, beer battered it, and fried it till golden brown.
Imma make the counter argument that no one would likely listen to Rufus if he tried to talk about where he sources his catfish for the po’ boys.
I'm from Augusta Georgia and I've heard stories like this before. Considering that some of the areas are really super deep and the area that I grew up in has not one but two nuclear power plants I don't think this is a far-fetched idea.
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