I Was Like Holy Cow!" Said The Angler Who Pulled This Ultra Rare Catfish From The Mississippi River

Chad Hester was night fishing along the mighty Mississippi River in West Alton, Missouri, an area known for its rich catfishing culture, when he caught a bizarre-looking spaceman known as a “piebald catfish.” His bait of choice was cut-bait rigged near the bottom, and his initial reaction after seeing this barnyard-looking animal was, understandably, “holy cow!”.

Knowing he wanted to let it go, Chester quickly weighed the fish, which came out to 36lbs, and hit record on camera so that he could capture the release of this incredible catch.

What Is A Piebald Blue Catfish?

In rare cases, blue catfish develop a distinctive whitish pale pattern on their typically dark skin with random black or grey blotches spread across their body.

How Often Does It Happen?

According to Fox 4 News Missouri, “the Lower Mississippi Conservation Committee catches tens of thousands of ordinary catfish every year. In 2014, they only caught two Piebald Blue catfish.”