Legendary Catfish: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|"...and then I saw
that from his lower lip
...hung five old pieces of fish-line,
...A green line, frayed at the end
where he broke it, two heavier lines,
and a fine black thread
still crimped from the strain and snap
when it broke and he got away.
Like medals with their ribbons
frayed and wavering,
a five-haired beard of wisdom
trailing from his aching jaw."
|"The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop}}
Those legendary giant fish that inhabit certain lakes. They usually have names like "Bubba" or "Sherman". The exact kind of fish is usually a Catfish. They each have a story on how they're [[Stronger
That ''almost'' part is important. The protagonist will thus be encouraged to go out and be The One To Catch
In a more general sense, an animal that ''ought'' to be considered easy prey, yet it is also a vicious creature that attacks ''you'' instead, succeeds in biting you and leaving a nasty scar (sometimes ''despite having no teeth!''). Oh, and it's darn near [[Normally I Would Be Dead Now|impossible to kill]] no matter how hard you beat on it, or how many bones you break.
Maybe it's a [[Killer Rabbit]], Evil Squirrel, or a Rabid Raccoon, or the actual evil Catfish himself (Several shows will have a whole episode about an evil vicious Catfish), but if it's an animal that should be easy prey, but turns into a ''[[Moby Dick]]''-style [[Animal Nemesis]] you've sworn to kill or die trying, you're probably dealing with [[The Catfish]].▼
Bonus points if catching it requires the use of your own flesh as [[The Bait|live bait]].
Note that not ''all'' catfish in fiction are
[[Truth in Television]], at least in Eurasia. Look up the [
Compare [[Legendary Carp]]. See [[wikipedia:Noodling|"Noodling"]]. Not related to [[w:Catfishing|"Catfishing"]], a term that can apply in a [[Dating Service Disaster]].
▲Maybe it's a [[Killer Rabbit]], Evil Squirrel, or a Rabid Raccoon, or the actual evil Catfish himself (Several shows will have a whole episode about an evil vicious Catfish), but if it's an animal that should be easy prey, but turns into a ''[[Moby Dick]]''-style [[Animal Nemesis]] you've sworn to kill or die trying, you're probably dealing with
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Gon in ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]'' is introduced by catching the King of the Lake, a massive fish that dwells in a lake on his island, by using his nature skills.
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== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[Archie Comics]]' ''Little Archie'' spin-off featured ''The Perilous Pike'', a huge pike that Mister Weatherbee constantly tried (and failed) to capture.
* "Let [[Disney Ducks Comic Universe|him]] catch the great king sturgeon! That will prove if he be worthy to be friends to the [[Affectionate Parody|Peeweegah!]]"
== [[Film]] ==
* At the beginning of ''[[Big Fish]]'', Edward Bloom tells a story about how, when his son was being born, he was busy being dragged around a lake after having been foolish enough to try to catch one of these legendary catfish. After having used his wedding ring as bait.
* The association of catfishes with earthquakes seems rather common in Japanese works. This goes back to a Japanese legend that earthquakes are caused by a giant catfish wriggling in the mud underneath the earth.▼
* This [http://www.snopes.com/critters/lurkers/catfish.asp Urban Legend] about a giant catfish. ▼
* '''Every Single Lake''' in America has its own Legendary Fish. Or at least some other awesome Folkie Tale or Legendary Legend, sometimes with cool gory bits. Make sure to ask around every time you visit one.▼
** OK, OK, every single ''large'', natural lake, and only the ones that don't have prehistoric monsters in them.▼
* Russian folklore features the sentient "Miraclous Whale Fish", whose body was turned into a [[Genius Loci|floating town]] as a [[Laser-Guided Karma|divine punishment]] for swallowing thirty ships ages ago. [[The Protagonist]] tells [[The Catfish]] about the punishment's reason, after which it spits out all of the ships ''unharmed together with the crew''. As soon as it's free from its curse, it starts helping the protagonist.▼
== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[
* ''[[The Old Man and
* [http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-fish/ "The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop], quoted above, is a poem about a boy who catches a fish seemingly old as the sea. Big, googly eyes, huge teeth, hooks from the fishers who failed still in her mouth like lip-piercings and badges of courage, scarred all over with fins worn down to ribbons and - in the narrator's eyes - beautiful in his own way. Like he's survived everything the world can throw at him. And since this legend seriously deserves to live on,
{{quote|
** Compare [http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/pike/ "Pike" by Ted Hughes], pike are one of those fish whose growth is limited by the body of water they live in and the food supply and they can get eat-your-dog big.
* There's also a books of New England humor that suggests a name for this kind of Legendary Fish: "Knock Less Monster". As in "Knock (back) Less (alchohol while fishing) Monster".
* The Irvin S. Cobb story [https://web.archive.org/web/20130907041714/http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/10592/ "Fishhead."]
* In David Eddings' ''[[The Belgariad|Polgara the Sorceress]]'', one character is convinced to keep his true identity as the lost prince of Riva a secret by getting him hooked on trying to catch one of the local Catfishes, "Old Twister" - and, should he ever succeed, intends to let Old Twister go again. When Old Twister turns up dead after a hard winter, the heir actually gives up fishing.
* In [[William Faulkner]]'s ''[[The Sound and
* In ''[[A Canticle for Leibowitz]],'' the giant catfish Bo'dollos is rumoured to haunt a lake formed over a crater once occupied by a village and 'an intercontinental launching pad, complete with several fascinating subterranean storage tanks.' Incidentally, the site was excavated by the Venerable Boedullus.
* The ultimate example has to be the short story [https://web.archive.org/web/20090304095258/http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/waldrop5/waldrop51.html "God's Hooks"] by [[Howard Waldrop]].
* In ''The Sword in the Stone'' ([[The Once and Future King|book by T. H. White]] and [[The Sword in
* In ''December Boys'', an old fisherman named Shellback spends his days trying to catch a huge fish called Henry, {{spoiler|and was visibly upset when one of the orphans beat him in catching Henry}}.
== [[Live
* The show ''[[
** They did a show about giant catfish in Germany, where tradition going back hundreds of years says, they eat people. It turns out they [[I'm a Humanitarian|only nip at them a little]]. Overlaps with [[Legendary Carp]].
*** In the episode focusing on them, he notes that the ones that've been allowed to breed in Barcelona are growing much bigger than the ones from their homeland typically do (thanks to warmer environment, basically), and it shouldn't be more than a few years before there genuinely will be ones big enough in those rivers to drag fishermen off the banks and swallow people whole.
** A specific ''subspecies'' of catfish, on the other hand, is definitely [[Truth in Television]]. The Goonch catfish of India, given the right environment, can certainly reach man-eating size. It's also notable (not unique, but notable) among catfish in that it's a ''predator'' rather than a scavenger. Jeremy Wade caught a five-foot-long one that weighed almost 170 pounds, and it wasn't quite big enough to eat a
* In one of the comedy episodes, [[Xena: Warrior Princess|Xena]] goes hunting for "Solaris" instead of chasing down the villain of the week thanks to meddling by Aphrodite. She still gets them in the end, of course..and then shoots the fish into the sky, turning it into a constellation for good measure. This would also be the episode where the infamous "[[Getting Crap Past the Radar|she wants me to fist a fish?]]" line came from.
== [[Music]] ==
* ''Boudreaux Was a Nutcase'', by [[The Austin Lounge Lizards]]. This one's a large-mouthed bass, named [[Shout
* [[Cledus T Judd]] has a song called ''Goodbye, Squirrel!'', which is a parody of the Dixi Chicks' song ''Goodbye Earl''. The song tells the story of a couple of deer hunters who were thwarted from shooting a 34-point buck by a squirrel that jumped out of a tree and onto one of the hunters, causing him to fall out of the tree stand. The hunters return with TNT and M-80 fireworks and proceed to blow up a section of the forest (and themselves) in an attempt to kill the squirrel. The squirrel survived unharmed, but the hunters were "barely alive by the time the game warden arrived".
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
* Khan, the giant catfish, is Julius' nemesis in ''[[Liberty Meadows]]''. Julius reacts to sightings of Khan the same way that Captain Ahab reacts to reports of [[Moby Dick]].
== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
▲* The association of catfishes with earthquakes seems rather common in Japanese works. This goes back to a Japanese legend that earthquakes are caused by a giant catfish wriggling in the mud underneath the earth.
▲* '''Every Single Lake''' in America has its own Legendary Fish. Or at least some other awesome Folkie Tale or Legendary Legend, sometimes with cool gory bits. Make sure to ask around every time you visit one.
▲** OK, OK, every single ''large'', natural lake, and only the ones that don't have prehistoric monsters in them.
▲* Russian folklore features the sentient "
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Arguable example: [http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=vf34hkPXHHw This] [[Real Life]] example.
** Even Bigger ones [https://web.archive.org/web/20090404050634/http://www.devilsden.com/default.php here:]
* In 2006 there was a rumour that a sea monster had been seen in the moats of
* Reggie: a feral Gator swimming in Machado Lake in Harbor City, California. After over a year, he was caught in May
* [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124991924916619783.html?mod=yhoofront Benson the giant carp], formerly of Bluebell Lakes, England.
*** The Watts bar catfish in TN. I've heard stories that divers will only go down there once or they won't go down without A FRIKKIN CAGE!
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[Breath of Fire IV]]'', there's a [[Bonus Boss]] to be encountered by approaching the hexed city of Chamba from the back (in other words, go to the next waypoint after Chamba and return). This boss is a gigantic Angler fish, called (appropriately enough) "Angler". Beating him earns you the North Chamba fishing spot, which is full of Jellyfish and some of the biggest catfish in the game. If you want to get the highest possible rank for catfish, this is your fishing spot!
* There is a cross-dressing talking giant catfish in ''[[Dark Cloud
* In ''[[Lufia]] II: Rise of the Sinistrals'', the first actually somewhat challenging enemy happens to be a giant, bored catfish that has been tormenting the nearby village with earthquakes.
* Volt Catfish from ''[[Mega Man X|Mega Man X3]]''.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* The [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere|Unnamed Giant Catfish]] of ''[[Touhou|Touhou Hisoutensoku]]''. Avatar of the God of Natural Catastrophes, and ([[All Just a Dream|imaginary]]) archenemy of [[Chinese Girl|Hong]] [[Fan Nickname|"China"]] [[Butt Monkey|Meiling]].
* [[Opoona]] has the aptly named fish "Legend". Though, the point of the battle is only to collect a scale, not to truly catch it.
* ''[[Endless Ocean]]'' and its sequel have several examples, though you only observe them, not catch them. Examples include Magu Tapah and Thanatos, giant great white sharks; the Ancient Mother, a giant ''whale''; and [[Exactly What It Says
** The sequel has three stronger examples {{spoiler|the [[Stock Ness Monster|Sea Serpent]], Anomalocaris, and Cameroceras}} all of which you can't directly interact with and agree to never speak of again.
* In ''[[Persona 4]]'', you actually have to catch one to max out a Social Link.
** [[Nintendo Hard|To the horror]] [[Guide Dang It|of many.]]
** Once you catch the Guardian, you can use it to fully restore a party member's SP... or feed it to a cat to cut the feedings needed to complete "Cat Needs Food Badly" from twenty to four.
* In ''[[
** It's usually the "Hylian loach", and it has a tendency to be utterly impossible to catch, unless you have a special lure that the fishing hole's proprietor may or may not approve of, in which case it's merely ''nigh''-impossible to catch.
* The gaint lung fish from ''[[
* In ''[[
* The King Fish in the [[Harvest Moon]] games
* ''[[Final Fantasy XV]]'' has two such fish. Catching the Murk Grouper (aka Devil of the Cygillan), is described as an "unrealisable dream" as no-one has caught one in living memory. Then, there's the Liege of the Lake, the Noble Arapaima, which has never been caught.
* There are five fish meeting this criteria in ''[[Stardew Valley]]'', each one found in a different body of water, and only catchable at specific times of year. The toughest of the five is actually called Legend.
** In an later update of the game, there's a quest to catch their successors, though these appear to infinitely respawn.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
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* ''[[Doug]]'' encounters one such giant catfish in his hometown's lake, having heard stories from his neighbor, Mr. Dink, about the huge monstrous fish known as Chester that had swallowed Mr. Dink's wallet. {{spoiler|He discovers at the end, after helping Mr. Dink catch him, that the catfish in question is only a couple feet long. Dink elects to let it go and keep the legend going.}}
* ''[[Family Guy]]'' did it - with Daggermouth. {{spoiler|Who is actually animatronic and made as a way for its owner to make money from merchandising}}.
* This was an episode of ''[[Hey Arnold!]]'' involving such a fish. But Arnold and Gerald ended up letting the fish go in the end.
* ''[[The Simpsons]]''. Early season episode where Homer and Marge go to a marriage counseling retreat with [[Unfortunate Names|Reverend Lovejoy]], except Homer only [[Fishing Minigame|goes to catch]] the legendary catfish "General Sherman" who populates the retreat's lake. He does catch
* Ty gets dragged on a fishing trip by his father that includes the obligatory giant catfish in the ''[[Grossology]]'' episode "Squirm".
* An episode of ''[[Nightmare Ned]]'' subverts the usual plot- Ned and his dad actually succeed in catching the legendary fish, but after a [[Once an Episode|nightmare]], Ned lets it go. Then his dad decides they'll try and catch it ''every'' year...
* Legend told on ''[[Angry Beavers]]'' of a fish known as "Old Gramps" which was large enough to swallow a Swede. {{spoiler|Turns out its his mate who's the large one, and SHE'S big enough to swallow the Beaver Bros.' dam... along with ''several'' Swedes.}}
* The fishing episode of ''[[Kid
* In the animated ''[[
* A swamp-dwelling fisherman in one of the more recent [[Scooby Doo]] cartoons was trying to catch a pesky giant Louisiana catfish. It not only kept stealing his bait, but swam up to his houseboat and spat water in his face to taunt him each time it did so.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Aquatic Animal Tropes]]
[[Category:Truth in Television]]
▲[[Category:The Catfish]]
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