Myths, legends and flat out lies

[ponykilr]

hey all, this may have been done before, but what are you favorite catfishing (or just fishing in general) myths. we in n.c. seem to have been told a lot of mis-information when we were younger.

my favorite was when i was told by my neighbor that catfish had stingers in the ends of their whiskers and could move them around like little arms and get you if you were not careful.

then there's the divers and the dam story(insert local area)

let em rip.......

[catfishrus]

i like the one about spitting on your bait. fish arent bitting because you forgot to spit on your hook.

[RiverratSC]

A guy we fished with as kids used to spit in the first fish's butt. Said it brought good luck.

The one about dams, I've heard from every lake in SC.

[JAYNC]

It seems like everywhere I go I hear those monster catfish at the dam stories. Even people who dont even catfish seem to know that one. I was getting gas a couple months ago and a guy in the gas station told me that one. I was like yeah they get pretty big and I left with a smerk on my face. I really dont see catfish getting much over 150lbs but I guess its possible if theres no one fishing for them. I know a lot of the dams on the mississipi back home, you cant get within 1000 feet of the dam with a boat or they will arrest you, so I guess its possible for a fish with 20-30yrs of no fishing pressure and an unlimited supply of food to get that big. I guess no one will ever know unless they put a huge net that goes all the way to the bottom, all the way across the river and then let the river flow till its dry and see exactly whats down there. It will never happen though, maybe we'll never know.

[bigfish]

yea we got that volts wagon size catfish story when the silver bridge fell in point pleasant wv.

[Katmaster Jr.]

Same here, we got the old Big Catfish at Dams stories around here.....everywhere I go around here the (what I call morons) are talking about that story....lol:rolleyes:

[Mark J]

So you heard about the monster cat of Lake Gaston dam too?
I thought that was a well kept secret.

[RiverratSC]

I bet those big monsters are "Blue Channels". LOL

[Mark J]

naa, It's the blue headed flat channel. Atleast thats what I was told.

[Katmaster Jr.]

So you heard about the monster cat of Lake Gaston dam too?
I thought that was a well kept secret.

Yeah I've heard of it alright, everywhere I go I hear it....LOL

But the truth is.....THERE ARE NO FISH BELOW THE DAM!!!!!!

[bigblaze]

I grew up in Pa. and fished the Ohio river.

I heard this story 100's of times.

divers went down to examine the bridge piers and a flathead suposedly sucked in one of the divers..

The fact is a diver did go down and not come up but no one no's what happened... they never did find the divers body.

[seaark]

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the one about the divers who said they would never go back down on that dam to check it or fix something. I mean, I guess they think people are that stupid or gullable, and I guess some people are. "A CATFISH AS BIG AS A VOLKSWAGON BEETLE". All the way from Alabama to S.C. to Tenn., Ga., and even the small lakes around my house here in N.C. I wonder why they don't take a picture of it. I know they have to have a camera of some sort to take pictures of the dam if there is a problem with it so someone can look over the pictures to correct the problem. Oh, I know why there aren't any pictures, "THEY WERE SO STARTLED THAT ALL THEY WANTED TO DO WAS GET OUT OF THERE. THEY WEREN'T GOING TO TAKE ANY CHANCES AFTER SEEING A FISH THAT BIG". The cat fish whisker sting is another good one. Several of the people I have taken fishing with me refused to touch the fish until I actually showed them that there whiskers would not sting you, but the dorsal fin and the pectoral fins are a different thing. I guess the biggest myth of all is the one I hear that "THERES ENOUGH FISH FOR EVERYBODY. THIS LAKE WILL NEVER BE OVER FISHED. I'M GOING TO KEEP MY FAIR SHARE BECAUSE I KNOW EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Please everyone, practice catch and release. Let the big ones go so they can make the little fish or so someone else can catch that monster and it can make there day just like it did mine.

[RiverratSC]

Funny thing. I know two divers for the DNR here in SC and they both say they see fish but nothing anywhere near that size. They dive all over the state, even Santee so if they were anywhere in this state I would say that is where they would be.

[bigblaze]

How many times have you had a nice bite or hard pull down

the fish never runs but when you go to reel your line in to check your bait ...your in a snag....well are you or has a big old fish just engulfed your bait.....:0a14:

[JAYNC]

I have thought about that before and left the pole sit sometimes for like 20-30 minutes, if the clicker isnt making noise after that long then its a snag. To this day none of my snags have swam away yet.

[Fatkat]

Yeah I've heard of it alright, everywhere I go I hear it....LOL

But the truth is.....THERE ARE NO FISH BELOW THE DAM!!!!!!

Your right Jr, there above the dam in the lake. It is true I tell ya, once when I was diving above the dam looking for a body I seen this giant mermaid, she had a forked tail like a channel and real long whiskers and she was big enough to swallow a VW Bettle, it scared the hell out of me. :eek: :p :eek:

[JAYNC]

I think I am going to go get scuba certified this year and go work for a company who inspects dams so I can see all the mermaids and carfish.

[C_wernett]

My buddy that I routinely fish with swears that if you keep the first fish you catch, it will ruin your entire day. I've proven him wrong on several occasions, but he says that it's just because I'm different. That he'll be catching fish left and right, and as soon as he decides to keep one...no more fish bite. I said,"Ummm...fish have fins...they move you know?"...or maybe that was just going to be the last fish anyway? But he swears that everytime I catch an eating sized fish, that I want to keep, be it bluegill, catfish, crappie, whatever, that keeping the first one will jinx the rest of the day!

[kbgrillin]

same story here in Arkansas. Catfish big enough to swallow a man whole.

[Katmaster Jr.]

Your right Jr, there above the dam in the lake. It is true I tell ya, once when I was diving above the dam looking for a body I seen this giant mermaid, she had a forked tail like a channel and real long whiskers and she was big enough to swallow a VW Bettle, it scared the hell out of me. :eek: :p :eek:

Yep, there ain't no fish down here on my side of the dam, there all up there in Kerr Lake, y'all kerr boy's hear that? No reason to come down here to Gaston I already caught them all!:rolleyes:

[WylieCat]

My favorite is that catfish are dormant in winter...LOL!!

[kspor]

Um I thought tall tails were required for fishing. Heck I stick my story that I once landed a 6 lb bluegill on sewing tread and a bent needle tied to a willow switch and baited with a horsefly the size of a grape. Didnt take a picture tho because I used up all my film on the first 36 monsters I caught the hour before.

[fraid_knot]

I got these lil handy dandy pole holders I just clamp on my tailgate. Made outta good metal. Anyhow, one night last summer, I's backed up to this slew and had my poles out, clickers set on, and was out lollygaggin around the bank not payin no 'tention what was goin on. And all of a sudden the line on one pole wenta singin off, strippin the line 'pletely off my reel. And by the time I got near the truck, (I swear) the front wheels was commin off the ground. Bout that time the line snapped. :crying: I have no ideer whut that mita been. I hope to ketchem agin this year.

[SeedTick]

I got these lil handy dandy pole holders I just clamp on my tailgate. Made outta good metal. Anyhow, one night last summer, I's backed up to this slew and had my poles out, clickers set on, and was out lollygaggin around the bank not payin no 'tention what was goin on. And all of a sudden the line on one pole wenta singin off, strippin the line 'pletely off my reel. And by the time I got near the truck, (I swear) the front wheels was commin off the ground. Bout that time the line snapped. :crying: I have no ideer whut that mita been. I hope to ketchem agin this year.

You just ain't right. hehehe

ST

[SeedTick]

Okay here's mine........A guy I use to work with could top any thaaang that was said about any thaaang.

"Hey Greg a buddy of mine did __________ whatever" (had a baby or something wild like that).

We sure got some nice blues down on the river Saturday,,,,,,,"Well a buddy of mine caught his limit in 30 minutes and never got out of sight of the boat ramp."

I hear the crappie are starting to bite,,,,,,,,"A buddy of mine came over and showed me the fillets from the crappie they caught and I swear that 5 gallon bucket was rounded up."

One day one of the guys stopped him cold in his tracks,,,,,,The redear are starting to spawn,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"A buddy of mine" the other guy cut him off and asked him if he thought anybody believed all the yarns he was always spinning. "Oh it's true, it's all true." The other guy said he could believe the parts about the fish but the hard part to believe was that he had a buddy.
You should have seen the look on his face. I though I was gonna bust a gut. I'm still laughing about as I type this. Wooohoooo that was something to see.


ST

:0a18:

[catd11rnky]

we have the same story here in pikeville,ky at fishtrap lake, big as vw bugs........lol

[joe0580]

here is one that if people knew how stupid they are they would not say it......

male catfish are eels and the females are catfish. i am like oh really. so now we have cross breeding that makes only female catfish? how dumb are you. and how about it is fine to take as many fish as long as there are more. never going to run something out. everytime i hear these 2 i want to just choke the guy saying it.

[ponykilr]

this isnt a fishing tale, but deer hunting tale. it was told with a straight face for the absolute truth(not a buddy of mine, i dont hang out with idgits).

" i was huntin' a field close to the house when i saw a deer about 100 yards off in some thick brush. i waited for a good shot and took it when he came to a little clearing. the buck ran but i could tell i got him.

well, i set my rifle down and climbed out of the stand. i began to walk in the direction that the deer went in and hoped to find him fairly quick. i saw some antlers and realized that the deer was still holding up his head. i looked around and saw an old piece of a fence post and picked it up to whack him in the head if he was still pretty riled up.

i started toward the deer and when he saw me, he jumped up, bolted right at me cause there was a big pile of bruch in his way so he couldnt go the other direction. i swung that post with all my might and conked him out cold. i took my knife, slashed his throat and started to drag him out to a little clearing so i could find him again with the atv. thats when i found the actual deer i had shot, he was dead as a doornail"

he beat down a healthy buck with a fence post...............uhhhh, ok.:p

[explayer]

that is some funny stories still laughing at the about the deer

[ponykilr]

now that's funny!!!:D

[Fatkat]

Sorry Wolfman, thats an urban legend, click on the link below.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/fuse.asp

[ponykilr]

urban legends are funny too. :cool:

these next two are true cause they happened to my brother in law.

cliff uzzle was fishing with rob(my bro) and caught a nice blue and got him up next to the boat. well, cliff reached over to grab the fish to get him in the boat and lost his balance and went in the water. he said" i felt myself hit the bottom(about 4 feet deep) and felt that fish underneath me, i grabbed him in a bear hug and pushed myself up to the surface".

you guessed it, he still had the 20+lb fish and tossed him over into the boat and then climbed in himself. robbie laughed uncontrolably for days.



the next one was not as funny but was a great story.

richard was fishing with rob and had a brand new uglystick and garcia reel just propped against the gunwale. a big fish hit the bream and jerked the rod and reel into the water. robbie laughing and holding his sides watched richard take another rod and reel and tie on a big treble hook and slip sinker and begin to cast into the river to try to catch his new rod and reel.

well, after 40-50 tries, he did snag his new gear and dragged it back to the boat, retrieved it and then started to reel it back in too. well, you guessed this one too, he reeled it in and got the fish, a 25lb flattie.

these guys i love, cause they keep me smiling. every trip is an adventure.:p

[jtrew]

Everywhere I've heard the story about the 'catfish as big as a Volkswagon', the water has been so muddy that visibility was about 6". What, did the diver see an eyeball and swim around this huge fish, feeling of it while it scared him so bad 'he'd never go back down there'?

But I will tell a true tale about a 10# flathead. I was fishing from shore below the dam at Dardanelle on the Arkansas River. There used to be a concrete walkway there, and that's where I was standing. The water had been pretty high, and had recently gone down just enough to be able to stand on this walkway. I hadn't had a bite. This guy comes down to see how I'm doing, we chat a little, then he asks me a couple of times if I have any fish. I told him no, and he promptly turned around, layed down, stuck his hand down a hole in the riprap, and pulled out a 10# flathead. Walked off, carrying his fish, leaving me there wondering if I was being sent a message that this just wasn't my day.

[bro_catfish]

This isnt a Legand or a Lie
when we were kids my oldest cousin got horned by a little squealer (tiny cat) at the lake during a family get together and it started to stinging and turning red and to be honest none of us kids felt bad casue he was a bully!
Anyway great grandpa told us the only way to get it to stop hurting is to pee on it!, You guessed it he went around the bend in the woods and came back out with a dripping hand..and the respond was like a half court shot to win the game..we all just exploded with laughter even grandma was bent over with laughter! , Good times!

[ponykilr]

that may have a smidge of truth in it cause urine is an awesome germ killer. it's what is suggested to use on a shallow wound if no other meds are around.
it is pretty much ammonia which nothing can live in.

it was in field and stream a while back, i love that mag, it makes me realize how poor i am.

[olefin]

Fatkat, ive been told it's an urban legand so many times it's not funny. Problem is it's not a legand, it's true. I've got a copy of the arkansas fish and game report made out by the investigateing agents. It IS a true story.:)
Well... OK, let's see that copy! :D

[bigcatwannabe]

the myth is a little exagerated, but at the diversion canal at santee cooper lakes they do have video tape of catfish estimated to be 140 lbs or more that are seen through the viewing glass. they keep the video camera up 24 hours a day and ive seen the video, but dont believe they could swallow me up.

[Strikeking]

Kat master jr your wrong ther is a giant catfish below the dam i almost had them then my line broke

[dreamer34]

alright everyone..i don't want to ruffle no feathers but i got to know now.....WHO STOLE MY DURN VOLKSWAGON BEETLE !!!!!only evidence is some large fin prints and a fishy smell