15-Year-Old Angler Boy Catches Rare 12.5-Pound All-White Catfish in Tennessee

An "albino" catfish was recently caught by a fisherman in the Tennessee River close to Chattanooga.

In his 29 years of working on the Cumberland and Tennessee River systems, seasoned biologist Mike Jolley of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency claimed he had only encountered a "few" of albino catfish.

Mainstreet Nashville reported that Matt Reidt and his wife went night fishing and grabbed the 12.5-pound solid white catfish.

The fish was released after being weighed and captured on camera.

Young Boy Captures Rare Catfish

A fantastic fish was recently caught by a teenage angler, which he described as "unlike any I've ever seen before-and may never see again!" On the morning of June 28, Edwards Tarumianz, 15, was fishing with Captain Richard Simms, a captain with Scenic City Fishing Charters, when he pulled in a fish that was notable not for its size but for its color. Unbelievably, the catfish was blue and white.

The predominant hue of this species, which is the biggest catfish in North America, is bluish-gray. Tarumianz's specimen, however, was primarily white with a few pale pink spots on its fins.

Simms said in a post on the Scenic City Fishing Charters Facebook page: "You may catfish for the rest of your life and never catch, or even see, another fish like that."

He added: "I've been catfishing seriously for 30 years-guiding for 17 of those-and that's the first albino to ever come in my boat."

Simms claimed that the catch was so extraordinary that if they hadn't captured a photo of the fish, people might not have been able to believe it.

On his fishing excursion with Simms, the boy reportedly made several other outstanding catches, and the captain called him one of the "most proficient" 15-year-old fishers he had ever encountered.

Experts Explain Catfish's Condition

The captain speculated per Newsweek that the fish may have been a leucistic catfish. Various animals can develop leucism, characterized by an overall pale appearance or patches with less pigmentation.

This disorder results in white, pale, or patchy coloring in feathers, hair, skin, or scales, but it has no effect on the eyes. It is brought on by a genetic defect that prevents the development of the pigment melanin as well as other pigments.

The chance of the fish being an albino exists as well. Another hereditary disorder with a melanin-deficient appearance is albinism. In certain situations, animals with albinism can have pink eyes in addition to white hair, feathers, skin, or scales.

Despite Simms' assertion, Field and Stream said it's not apparent if the catfish is leucistic rather than albino. Leucism, sometimes known as "piebaldism," is a hereditary disorder defined by limited melanin synthesis, whereas albinism is a genetic condition marked by the absence of melanin.

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