John,

What we were catching weren't catfish, weren't 12" long, and aren't edible. I can't imagine working that hard to get that little amount of meat even if you do have one of those types of catfish you're discussing.

Dad fished all over the U.S., since his father was stationed in many Army hospitals as an Army psychiatrist. I'm sure Dad knew the difference between a catfish and a bullhead--as did his father who taught him to fish. Dad was born in Louisiana, but as the saying goes, probably got out of there as fast as he could. His father's family was from the New England area and there are stories of his fishing in the creek behind a favorite aunt's home in Pennsylvania.

Now if you want to start talking about boney, difficult fish for eating, take a look at the alligator gar. The small ones are probably more boney than tender. I lived in Louisianna for a few months and came across fishermen who kept the meat from the big ones for eating. Here is a cute story. If people are catching these and not planning to eat them, they should release them, because they are beneficial, in addition to being a living fossil of the fish world.

SRS