39,327
edits
Legendary Catfish: Difference between revisions
update links
m (clean up) |
(update links) |
||
Line 15:
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 with Age|old as the lake itself, big as a bus]], and ''almost'' impossible to catch.
That ''almost'' part is important. The protagonist will thus be encouraged to go out and be The One To Catch Said Giant Fish. Eventually he does so and he has a huge battle with it. Finally the protagonist wins the fight and the great fish gives in. Inevitably, the protagonist lets the fish go; usually he says that "the legend must live on" or makes up some other excuse.
Line 41:
== [[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!]]"
Line 49:
== Folklore ==
* 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.
Line 57:
* ''[[Moby Dick]]''.
* ''[[The Old Man and the Sea]]'' by [[Ernest Hemingway]].
* [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|"Everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow - and I let the fish go." }}
** 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 [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 [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 the Stone|Disney movie]] both) Wart and Merlin encounter the king fish of the moat, who argues that "might is right."
* 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 Action TV]] ==
Line 87:
** Even Bigger ones [http://www.devilsden.com/default.php here:]
* In 2006 there was a rumour that a sea monster had been seen in the moats of Varbergs fästning in Sweden. A woman who was out walking her dog had seen something huge shoot up from the water and swallow a gull in midflight. The monster turned out to be a large catfish.
* Reggie: a feral Gator swimming in Machado Lake in Harbor City, California. After over a year, he was caught in May 2007 and currently resides in the LA Zoo. The late Steve Irwin would've had a go...if not for his unfortunate accident.
* [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!
Line 95:
* There is a cross-dressing talking giant catfish in ''[[Dark Cloud|Dark Cloud 2]]''
* 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]]''.
* ''[[Ōkami|Okami]]'' has you catch these two times in the main story: a giant catfish that ate the reflection of the moon and a "living sword" (i.e., cutlass fish). There's also [[That One Boss|That One Fish]], a nigh-impossible to catch extra-special ingredient that must be caught for [[One Hundred Percent Completion]] and to unlock a hidden brush technique. The marlin is truly a beast of pure evil.
* ''[[Ōkamiden|Okamiden]]'' Has one as well. A giant evil catfish that convinced himself that he was a Carp that would turn into a catfish when he climbed up a waterfall.
* In ''[[Castle Crashers]]'' one of the bosses is, literally, a Catfish. In more ways than one.
* 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 on the Tin|the Golden Catfish]].
** 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.
Line 119:
* ''[[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 it—only to throw it back in to show Marge that she matters to him much more. Afterwards, the fishing shop owner tells a patron about the man who caught the fish, but describes him as [[Memetic Badass|a giant with tree trunks for arms and hair as fiery as the pits of Hell itself]].
* Ty gets dragged on a fishing trip by his father that includes the obligatory giant catfish in the ''[[Grossology]]'' episode "Squirm".
Line 131:
[[Category:Aquatic Animal Tropes]]
[[Category:Truth in Television]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
| |||