The blue catfish is the most familiar catfish, to fish for and develops to over one hundred twenty pounds. The current competition for the United States recordbook of 124 lbs. is from the Alton Illinois 5 22 2005. There are five hundred seventy two million lbs. of catfish farmed in commercial ponds. Recent June 28, 2005 find of the Lacantunia enigmatica catfish in Chiapas, Mexico is the only known specimen of catfish of the ancient Tertiary age dating to the time before the ice age.

World's heaviest catfish, weighed six hundred fourty six pounds, captured in the Mekong River, Thailand, May 2005, and is known as the Mekong Giant 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 wedged head, of the appaluchion and the yellow skin denotes the 2nd biggest inland water catfish. The United States record is ninety eight and a half, pounds, Lake Palestine, Texas, in 1998. These fish can live 19 years and longer. Most species of catfish from uncontaminated water is very good dining.

Catfish Bait in the traditional stink bait, subsidize live bait for the favored lure for catfish.