The forktail cat is the most popular catfish, to fish for and matures to over one hundred twenty lbs.. The current rival for the United States record of one hundred tewnty four pounds is from the Alton Illinois May 22, 2005. There are five hundred seventy two 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 largest catfish, was weighed at 646.2 lbs., captured in the Mekong River, Thailand, May 2005, and is known as the Pangasianodon gigas Catfish, and is being studied as a critically endangered species.

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

The shoveled head, of the opelousas and the yellow color represents the 2nd biggest freshwater catfish. The American record is ninety eight and a half, pounds, Lake Palestine TX, in December 1998. Flathead catfish might live nineteen years and longer. Most varieties of catfish from uncontaminated water is very good eating.

Catfish Stinkbait in the traditional stink bait, subsidize live bait for the favorite bait for catfish.