The forktail cat is one of the most popular catfish, to fish for and develops to over 100 lbs.. Today's competition for the U.S. recordbook of one hundred tewnty four pounds is from the Alton Illinois May 22, 2005. There are 572 million pounds of catfish farmed in commercial ponds. Recent June 28, 2005 find of the Lacantunia enigmatica catfish in Chiapas, Mexico is the only known example of catfish of the ancient Tertiary age dating to the age of dinosaurs.

World's biggest catfish, was weighed at 646.2 pounds, captured in the Mekong River, Thailand, May 1,2005, and is known as the Pangasianodon gigas Catfish, and is being studied as an endangered species.

The channel catfish grow to 45 pounds averaging 14 years but are known to live to 20 years.

The flattened head, of the mud cat and the yellow skin denotes the second heaviest freshwater catfish. The United States record is 98.50, pounds, Lake Palestine, Texas, in nineteen hundred ninety eight. These catfish may survive 19 years and more. Virtually all varieties of catfish from running water is very good eating.

Catfish Bait in the dough balls, subsidise live bait for the favored lure for catfish.