That’s one lucky catfish, I would have humiliated him long before he got that big (LOL).
Truth is, I am not a catfish fan. If I catch one, I deal with it (I have caught many) fishing for other, more elegant species (LOL). I caught one little one in Texas off my dock a LONG time ago, hooked him in the face, got bit by his gill while trying to release him. I caught him again a week later, off my dock, with the hook still in his face.
My sister and her husband live in Alabama. They call me all the time and give me minute to the minute reports on camping at night on a boat, and pulling in big cats from the Tennessee River.
Those French catfish better stay away from my sister, she’s a catfishing fool.
Golly! That fishin’ seems to run in your family, truly a fearsome bunch. Between the two of you I’m surprised there’s any fish left east of the Mississippi. LOL!
I saw a show awhile back of a couple guys catching catfish with their hands along riverbanks or swamps, can’t remember which in the south. Couldn’t pay me to do that, I’d sure as heck find a gator or water moccasin. That just isn’t my idea of fun. :-)