Wels Catfish... Too big for my tank.
- Thread starter Zeke
- Start date
He's gotta have the most heavy duty light tackle I've ever seen lol. complete double over in that rod the whole time too...
Wonder if catfish in general edible ?
Statistically, when one orders fish at a restaurant in the US, they will most likely get a catfish, a channel to be exact, the most farmed food fish in the US.
When you buy swai, that's iridescent shark catfish raised in SE Asia. Walking catfish are raised for food. Hemibagrus nemurus too.
In Amazon, the local eat ~ everything they fish out of water including ~ all spp of catfish big enough. Same in Africa.
In SA, the catfish are hybridized at food farms, e.g., TSNxRTC, TSNxMarbled catfish. Same in SE Asia - hybrids of Pangasiidae.
Same for marine catfish all over the world.
Wels are not farmed for food on a large scale because AFAIK they are too cannibalistic.
Well stated, TBTBetter. The muscle segments on that Wels would be 2-4" thick or more, now that I think about it probably more. Really tough in texture. Like a HUGE grouper. The fellow in the picture is ....I-Talian , and his last name is , believe it or not, Ferrari. Lol!!! He's probably really well off and fishes for giants for fun. What's hard to fathom is he caught it on a topwater lure. Not cut bait, live fish, or anything meaty for that matter. I've watched some fishing shows targeting Wels catfish. They are attracted by splashing on the surface. Saw one with an underwater camera that showed the giants coming up from deep water to investigate. Really a big fish to be swimming in the water with. I know how they act in an aquarium type setting. Sometimes their appetite is bigger than their capabilities to swallow something after they've caught it. Scary.
