Reflection paragraph on process

My search topic was pretty easy. But it go really boring about  half way into my project. I think the easy thing to do was find a photo, and write about it. If i could do it again i would change my topic to something more fun to find out about.

Reflection paragraph on sources

All the sources i used gave me good information. It was not easy, but not that hard to find websites that gave me good, and true information. The website that was most useful was National Geographic. It was the most useful because it had all different species of catfish. And had good information on all of them. Animal Planet/river monsters was a very usful site too. It had information on dangers catfish, and also others.

Works cited

CATFISH: DANGERS TO HUMANS." Naturehunt. Web. 09 Nov. 2010.

Fisherman's Corner near Canyon Lake for GREAT Catfishing, Live Bait, Full Tackle Shop, 30 Min to San Antonio, 1 Hour to Austin. Web. 05 Nov. 2010.

"Giant Catfish, Giant Catfish Profile, Facts, Information, Photos, Pictures, Sounds, Habitats, Reports, News - National Geographic." Animals, Animal Pictures, Wild Animal Facts - National Geographic. Web. 29 Oct. 2010.

Keith, By. "Out There: A Baptism! Noodling for Catfish - ESPN." ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports. Web. 11 Nov. 2010.

"River Catfish, River Catfish Pictures, River Catfish Facts - National Geographic." Animals, Animal Pictures, Wild Animal Facts - National Geographic. Web. 05 Nov.

finding paragraph #3

"A True Goliath: Chrysichthys cranchii, which is called the "kamba" in the Congo, is a pretty big fellow. (Fishbase.org) lists its maximum length as around 5 feet, with a top weight of nearly 300 pounds, and there's a semi-credible report of one that topped out a foot longer and 100 pounds heavier. It's one of 59 members of the family Claroteidae, a clan that also includes the giraffe catfish and the African big eye catfish, both of which have more charismatic monikers. Depending on what country you're in and what language you speak, the kamba is also known as the kanzema, kokuni, the manora or the tshirima." This paragraph tells me about the Kamba catfish.  This was a species of catfish that i didnt know about. And this catfish is found in Africa.

Wordle #2

Reflection paragraph on findings

I have learned alot about my research project, which is catfish. I have also answered some of the things i did not know about catfish. I learned what kind of catfish are dangers. I found out many species that i did not know about. I learned about noddling which is a sport when somebody goes in a river, or pond and puts his hand in a catfish hole, and pulls the catfish up if you can. But i still have some questions about how catfish feed, and what is the best bait for catfish.

Finding Paragraph #2

"The history of fishing goes back nearly as far as the fish. Fishing history dates back to when people of ancient times began fishing for food, when pieces of bone were used as hooks and lengths of vine as line. The oldest known painting of an angler using a rod or staff comes from Egypt and history dates it from about 2000 BC. Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle mentioned angling in their writings, and another Greek writer, Plutarch, gave tips about fishing lines. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, Roman rhetorician Claudius Aelian wrote about Macedonian trout anglers using artificial flies as lures." This paragraph tells you about the history of fishing. And it answers my question "were did fishing start". This tells you oldest known painting of somebody fishing was around 2000 BC.

Finding Paragraph #1

"Noodling isn't relaxing fishing. It's actually quite dangerous, which is part of its draw. You'll need to be good swimmer to noodle, even in shallow water. Some fishermen dare to noodle in water that is waist to chin deep.Catfish are very strong, especially when they're fighting for their lives, and they can easily pull a person underwater. Many an old-timer has a story about someone who died because he couldn't get his hand loose from the catfish's jaw and was dragged to the bottom of the river [source: Bilger]." This paragraph tells me that catfish can be dangers. And that answers one of my questions "are catfish dangers". This tells you what you need to be able to do in order to go noodling. 

Quote, paraphrase, and citation #5

Keith, By. "Out There: A Baptism! Noodling for Catfish - ESPN." ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports. Web. 11 Nov. 2010.


At this point in your first noodling excursion, many questions muddle your mind. How did I get myself into this? Will there be a cottonmouth in this hole, or a beaver, or a snapping turtle? Do alligators live in these parts? If a catfish is home, will it really bite hard like they say? How bad will it hurt? They say big cats will swallow your entire hand, start spinning and rip the skin off your arm. What will that feel like? How did my noodling instructors get the nicknames Nubbins and Three-Fingered Jack?

This website tell you about noddling, and what the dangers are of the sport. Noddling is a sport were their is no equipment is used. No hooks, no lines, no poles or reels. No tackle of any sort ... unless you consider your hands tackle. Some people have even lost fingers because the catfish will bit down so hard.

Quote, paraphrase, and citation #4

CATFISH: DANGERS TO HUMANS." Naturehunt. Web. 09 Nov. 2010.

A handful of species are known to present some risk. Perhaps the most notorious of these is the Candiru, due to the way it is reputed to parasitize the urethra, though there is only one well-documented case of a candiru attack on a human. Since 2007, the Goonch catfish has also gained attention following a series of fatal underwater attacks which have been alleged by biologist Jeremy Wade to have been from unusually large goonch. The Wels catfish has also been reputed to kill humans especially young children, and while there are no documented cases of fatalities, larger specimens are known to cause serious injuries in rare instances from defensive reactions rather than attempted predation.


This website tells you about the dangers of catfish. It says that the goonch catfish has gained attention following a series of fatal underwater attacks. The Wels catfish  has also been reputed to kill humans especially young children.

Graph/chart/map and citation

This graph is showing atlantic catfish catch by month. Atlantic catfish are found near Cape Cod in North America. The catch has been in the general range of 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes.

Quote, Paraphrase, and citation #3

Fisherman's Corner near Canyon Lake for GREAT Catfishing, Live Bait, Full Tackle Shop, 30 Min to San Antonio, 1 Hour to Austin. Web. 05 Nov. 2010.


   The flathead catfish is often called the yellow cat, shovelhead cat and mud cat in various regions of North America. The fish can be found throughout the central and south central U.S., and thrives in viable habitat ranging from large rivers and reservoirs to small streams.


This website tells you facts about catfish. It breaks down and tells you the facts about different kinds of catfish. It gives you a photo and short paragraph telling you about the fish they are talking about.

Photo, Caption, and citation #3

This is a photo of a white catfish. White catfish are just the same as any other fresh water cat it is just white. This catfish was catch in Mississippi.

Quote, Paraphrase, and citation #2

"River Catfish, River Catfish Pictures, River Catfish Facts - National Geographic." Animals, Animal Pictures, Wild Animal Facts - National Geographic. Web. 05 Nov.


These unique fish have the nickname "iridescent shark catfish," a seemingly ill-suited comparison for a toothless, freshwater fish. The nickname arises from its tendency to swim close to the surface, raising its dorsal fin above the water. As for iridescence, river catfish have no scales, but their delicate skin is covered with a protective layer of slime that gives them a shiny glow.


This site tells you all kinds of information about different kinds of catfish. It tells me about a catfish that has the nickname "shark catfish". It also says that they have no scales.

Photo, caption, and citation #2

This photo is a sport called noodling. Noodling is when a person goes underwater and finds a hole and puts his hand in the hole. And hopes that something will bit his hand. It could be anything that bits you, but you hope it is a catfish.

Quote, paraphrase, and citation #1

"Giant Catfish, Giant Catfish Profile, Facts, Information, Photos, Pictures, Sounds, Habitats, Reports, News - National Geographic." Animals, Animal Pictures, Wild Animal Facts - National Geographic. Web. 29 Oct. 2010.

The world’s largest scaleless freshwater fish lives a tenuous existence in the murky brown waters of Southeast Asia’s Mekong River. Capable of reaching an almost mythical 10 feet (3 meters) in length and 650 pounds (295 kilograms), Mekong giant catfish live mainly in the lower half of the Mekong River system, in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

This website tells you about giant catfish. It also tells about other catfish, and other different kinds of fish. And it tells you how big catfish can get,what they eat, and were they live. 

Photo, caption, and citation #1

This photo is a red tail catfish. It relates to my topic because it is one of many species of catfish. Red tail catfish are found in Brazil. And they are very powerful.

wordle #1

Preliminary links and descriptions!

http://fishing.about.com/Lr/catfish_fishing/335887/1/
This site tells you about all the different kinds of catfish. The new york times created this site. It is helpful because it gives me information about catfish.


http://animals.national geographic.com/animals/fish/Mekong-giant-catfish/
This site tells you about how big catfish can get. The national geographic society created this site.
It helps me buy giving me information and videos.

http://msucares.com/aquaculture/catfish/biology.html
This site tells me about commercial catfish. It tells you how they live,and how they mate.

http://www.pethealthandcare.com/blog/fish-species/shark-catfish.html
This site tells you about a different kind of catfish. It saids that their is a shark catfish. They are found in brackish, and fresh waters.

animoto based on search questions

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

what i want to know

I want to know how fishing started, and where it first started at. I want to know different kinds of baits people use to catch catfish. What are the types of different ways people fish. And the different kinds of poles, and lines people use.

what i already know

What do i know about fishing? I know were I can go fishing to have a good change of catching a nice size fish. I know how to get a fish off the hook. Catfish are nocternal and feed at night. I have caught some big catfish at night, but also during the day so it just depends. The bait I use for catfish is worms, or 'cut bait'. Cut bait is just anykind of fish that you catch cut up. If you are fishing for catfish you dont want a little rod or thin rod. You want to have like a medium size rod. If you are fishing for bass, or brim you want a liftweight, or easy to handle rod. Catfish are also really good to eat, but them are hard to skin. The way I skin them is to nail them to a tree throgh the head.You have to have a pair of plours to pull the skin off. And that is really the only hard part about it.Fishing is not that hard to do,anybody can walk into wal-mart and buy a fishing pole. Its just like any other sport you just have to try

The story behind my topic choice

I picked fishing because I think it is interesting, and fun. Fishing is fun because you never know what you are going to catch. There are so many different species of fish out their that it is hard to catch just one type. My favorite part is when you get a fish on the line. And the fish is just pulling and fighting to get away, and you know its big because its about to pull you in the water. You keep on reeling the rod, hopping that the fish wont break the line. Then you see a glance of the fish as it jumps up out of the water, and you say to yourself "he's a monster". Now you have the fish almost pulled in, and it feels like he has give up, and he starts to pull again. And then finally you get it pulled in to the shore, and it is a monster.