Catfish have gotten a bum rap since the term “catfishing” came to be associated in 2010 with sexual innuendos and misbehavior perpetuated by online messaging.
The practice of extending one’s bogus romantic interests toward an innocent victim is despicable and should not be tolerated.
The unfortunate connection to the catfish, however, needs to be repealed and undone, because it is undeserved, unwarranted and unjust.
Sadly, the negative implications associated with “catfishing” have smeared the catfish’s reputation and image. This species has tender feelings…through its barbels that resemble a cat’s whiskers.
Darrell Taylor, an outdoor sports writer based in Camdenton, Mo., a gateway community to the Lake of the Ozarks, acknowledges that “catfish are not very likely to win a beauty contest for fish.”
“They are the ‘piscatorial Rodney Dangerfield’ and ‘get no respect,’ but know this, there is a cadre of loyal anglers who love catfish and pursue them with vigor,” Taylor said.
“Summer is prime time for ‘cats,’ as they often end up as tasty fillets on dinner plates in restaurants and in homes. These palate-pleasers can be prepared in many ways such as deep fried, pan fried, grilled over charcoal, baked with cream sauce, smoked or pickled,” Taylor said.
“Catfish can be a healthy alternative to red meat,” he noted. “Missourians are blessed with 16 varieties of catfish.”
Missouri is one of five middle-America states that have adopted the catfish as their “official state fish.” Others are Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Tennessee.
Wonderopolis, a website of the National Center for Families Learning, based in Louisville, Ky., explained that the catfish barbels are “sensitive feelers.”
The catfish lesson writer said: “Because catfish tend to live in dark, murky waters, their vision isn’t very useful. Their barbels help the fish search out food using their sense of touch.”
“When caught, catfish make a noise that sounds a bit like a cat purring. But this may be where the similarities between catfish and cats end. Catfish can easily grow to become much larger than a cat – and sometimes even larger than a kid!”
Case in point: At 0-dark-30 in the morning of July 20 (just a few weeks ago), Tyler Barnes of Pikeville in Wayne County, N.C., pulled a 78-pound, 14-ounce flathead catfish out of the Neuse River near Maple Cypress Landing in Craven County.
The fish weighed about the same as an average-sized 10-year-old child.
Barnes’ fish was a North Carolina state freshwater record for a flathead catfish. It was a true “trophy fish,” estimated to be about 30 years old. After the weigh-in at EZ Bait and Tackle Store in Goldsboro, the big ole catfish was released back into the river.
Statewide, the news media’s outdoor sports reporters jumped on the story, and Barnes humbly basked in the limelight.
For the full effect, readers are referred to the Facebook page of Emily Howell of Nahunta in rural Wayne County.
She is Barnes’ fiancé as well as his regular fishing partner. Emily has reeled in her share of prize-winners as well.
Watch the video produced by Catch The Fever Outdoors, based in Roxboro, N.C.
Tyler and Emily manifest the “catfish lifestyle” that is so readily identified with the southern culture.
One of the most entertaining catfishing advocates is Chad Ferguson of Saginaw, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth. He’s a fishing guide, author and creator of the Catfish Edge digital media network.
Ferguson can teach you how to clean a catfish in less than 15 seconds.
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