Gaff Topsail Catfish on board 18 X 12 "

For those fishermen of recent arrival, the catfish is only known as a freshwater fish, generally caught or raised in freshwater rivers, lakes, and ponds. In the past, however, the saltwater catfish was omnipresent in our creeks, rivers, and surf zones. Catfish and toadfish were the fisherman's nemesis , eating up all the bait and leaving little for our gamefish. The saltwater catfish is heavily armored with barbed spikes that live in the dorsal and pectoral fins ; these sharp barbed rigid spikes have stabbed many a fisherman over the years as the disgusted fisherman attempted to remove the hook from the fish's leathery mouth structures. Many a young fishermen have prayed that these " ugly and dangerous" fish just vanish from our prime fishing  spots. Suddenly, there were no more saltwater catfish! They suddenly became rare and subsequently "endangered".  The reason for the saltwater catfish decline is unknown. Marine Zoologists suspect a viral epidemic as no known other parasite has be