The blue is one of the most popular catfish, to fish for and matures to over 100 lbs.. Today's rival for the American recordbook of one hundred tewnty four lbs. is from the Alton Ill. May 22, 2005. There are five hundred seventy two million lbs. of catfish raised for profit. Recent June 28, 2005 discovery of the Lacantunia enigmatica catfish in Chiapas, Mexico is the only specimen of catfish of the ancient Tertiary age dating to the age of dinosaurs.

The World's heaviest catfish, weighed 646.2 lbs., caught in the Chiang Khong Region,Thailand, May 2005, and is named as the Mekong Giant 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 wedged head, of the shovelhead cat and the yellow skin represents the 2nd heaviest inland water catfish. The U.S. recordbook is 98.50, pounds, Near Tyler, TX, in December 1998. Flathead catfish may survive 19 years and more. Most varieties of catfish from running water is very good table fare.

Catfish Bait in the traditional stink bait, subsidize dead minnows for the preferred attractant for catfish.