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Catfish catching pigeons on land.

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Video at YouTube

That's why my motto has always been "The only good catfish is a batter-fried catfish."

Yes I have, and I've met snapping turtles big enough to keep that off my list of things to try...

Jabberwonky wrote:Yes I have, and I've met snapping turtles big enough to keep that off my list of things to try...

ditto

Long as we're talking about fish. . . .

A lot of younger folks don't remember the mighty Susquehanna atomic carp, but back in the early '80s, the river was full of them between Three Mile Island and Peach Bottom. You could tell people who spent a lot of time fishing for them, because they always had great suntans. In February.

One of the coolest things about them was how they cooked themselves when you pulled them out of the water. Some folks tried taking them home for the freezer. Boy, was that a bad idea.

Everybody has stories about them, but there are no good pictures. It was before digital cameras, and the film always came out fogged.

For a long time, I noticed they were disappearing, but didn't know what had happened to them. Then one day I read that peregrines were nesting in the old Unit 2 cooling tower.

That explained it, of course. The fission falcons got them.

Typeminer wrote:That explained it, of course. The fission falcons got them.

I'll confess... you really gulled me with that one.

(*clink*clink*clink*clink*clink* - there, I paid the Pun Jar for both of us, out of admiration for your excellent shaggy-dogfish story)

Jabberwonky wrote:That's why my motto has always been "The only good catfish is a batter-fried catfish."

Try this:

Brush both sides of boneless filets with butter. place on foil-covered broiler pan; season with salt. Sprinkle on dry mustard powder, finely-chopped fresh (or dried) dill, and a little lemon juice. Place under broiler and watch carefully; remove when edges of filets begin to brown (not too long or the dill will burn). Now sprinkle with pepper to taste and serve with fried potatoes and green tomato pickles.

Good stuff....

Jabberwonky wrote:Yes I have, and I've met snapping turtles big enough to keep that off my list of things to try...

Cottonmouth snakes here. No thanks.

Dave wrote:

Typeminer wrote:That explained it, of course. The fission falcons got them.

I'll confess... you really gulled me with that one.

(*clink*clink*clink*clink*clink* - there, I paid the Pun Jar for both of us, out of admiration for your excellent shaggy-dogfish story)

Thanks!

Well that's just...I don't know...special? creepy? fascinating? All of the above? I've always enjoyed a good fried catfish, and I have also gotten a kick out of watching people go noodling on tv (I wouldn't try it myself for the same reasons as Jabber and Shneekey), but there's just something unsettling about watching them come out of the water to feed like that. I'm guessing the French will be keeping their smaller pets away from rivers and lakes now...or we'll soon hear about how some old lady's beloved Yorkie puppy was killed by an evil catfish.

Walking catfish use their ability to find a better water hole in a drought; I've heard of domestic pets finding them andgetting barbel-stabbed for their trouble. I've seen the usual shaggy-dog story of the big fish (Catfish or, sometimes, bass) luring squirrels to the water and eating them. Never seen video evidence of catfish catching birds.

Heard of spiders big enough to catch birds in their nets; also heard of fishiing spiders who catch minnows in little nets stretched between their legs...

NOTDilbert wrote:Heard of spiders big enough to catch birds in their nets; also heard of fishiing spiders who catch minnows in little nets stretched between their legs...

The first time I saw it was here. Google:Images:spider catches bird for some insanely creepy pics.

Jabberwonky wrote:

NOTDilbert wrote:Heard of spiders big enough to catch birds in their nets; also heard of fishiing spiders who catch minnows in little nets stretched between their legs...

The first time I saw it was here. Google:Images:spider catches bird for some insanely creepy pics.

And people wonder why I have arachnophobia.

Mark N wrote:

Jabberwonky wrote:The first time I saw it was here. Google:Images:spider catches bird for some insanely creepy pics.

And people wonder why I have arachnophobia.

My thoughts exactly...which is why I won't even bother googling the images.

Heh. Forget spiders that eat birds.

Worry about frogs that eat ... welll ... other things.

Typeminer wrote:Long as we're talking about fish. . . .

A lot of younger folks don't remember the mighty Susquehanna atomic carp, but back in the early '80s, the river was full of them between Three Mile Island and Peach Bottom. You could tell people who spent a lot of time fishing for them, because they always had great suntans. In February.

One of the coolest things about them was how they cooked themselves when you pulled them out of the water. Some folks tried taking them home for the freezer. Boy, was that a bad idea.

Everybody has stories about them, but there are no good pictures. It was before digital cameras, and the film always came out fogged.

For a long time, I noticed they were disappearing, but didn't know what had happened to them. Then one day I read that peregrines were nesting in the old Unit 2 cooling tower.

That explained it, of course. The fission falcons got them.

Yes. Some of those fish had three feet!

Typeminer wrote:Everybody has stories about them, but there are no good pictures. It was before digital cameras, and the film always came out fogged.

Should've waited until night, when the fish were glowing in the dark.

Fairportfan wrote:Heh. Forget spiders that eat birds.

Worry about frogs that eat ... welll ... other things.

That first picture, are you sure he's not a military underwater demolitions mouse? He is wearing a ... Oh, man. Even I can't say it

Never sleeping again.