Catfish - A Southern Delicacy

‘Catfish Farming’ Is Big Business in Eastern N.C.

Carolina Classics Original Catfish is a brand of farm-raised catfish. The aquaculture company, which originated in 1985, is based in Aden. It owns and manages 1,200 acres of fish farm ponds in eastern North Carolina, harvesting some 5 million of pounds of catfish a year.

Joanie Stiers, an agricultural journalist, reports that Carolina Classics is North Carolina’s “largest catfish producer, selling primarily fresh to retailers and restaurants from Chicago eastward and Georgia northward into Canada. The company also taps a consistent nationwide market as the exclusive catfish supplier for Whole Foods Market.”

Rob Mayo, owner of Carolina Classics, said: “We sell our fish to people who want a higher value, consistently good-tasting fish that has a clear traceability in terms of where it’s come from, what it’s been fed and how it’s been raised.”

Catfish production and processing contribute more than $12 million per year to North Carolina’s aquaculture industry, about one-fourth of the total annual volume for all aquacultural products, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDACS).

Pete Anderson of New Bern, an aquaculture consultant with NCDACS, says: “When we look at trying to feed a growing population, aquaculture, in general, can produce more pounds of protein per acre than any other species.”

Gary Dillon, the fish farms manager at Carolina Classics, said catfish are a favorite meal of bald eagles that have nested near the fish farm ponds. He said that the catfish were first discovered by ospreys, but the eagles swooped in to steal the fish that the ospreys had snatched with their talons.

“The ospreys moved on; they just got tired of doing all the work and having the eagles claim the spoils,” Dillon said.

The eagles now are on their own to fish for their dinner. Dillon said: “A two-pound catfish each day is more than enough for a meal for an eagle, and what he doesn’t consume, the vultures and other birds and animals around here will finish,” Dillon said.

Eagles and vultures are not the only birds that have been drawn to the “catfish cornucopia.” Blue and gray herons, snowy egrets, kingfishers, wood storks and several species of shore birds and ducks – some quite rare – also stake claims to the waters, Dillon said.

“Land animals frequently spotted around the ponds include bears, foxes, coyotes, opossums, raccoons, beavers, otters and muskrats.” What’s for Dinner? Fried Catfish and the Fixin’s!

Fried catfish is more than just another Southern food – it pairs with fried chicken to form a delicious blend of “creek and coop” (a goodeatin’ alternative to “surf and turf.”)

Give credit to Hannah Hayes, a former editor at Southern Living magazine, for making the connection.

She said frying catfish is trickier than frying chicken. If it’s prepared poorly, catfish “can taste swampy and greasy, but cooked well, it can make the difference in turning a catfish loather into a lover.”

The late Craig Claiborne, who was a revered food editor and restaurant critic for the New York Times, was born in Sunflower, Miss. He once wrote:

“Like most Southerners, I adore catfish. Eating deep-fried catfish was a ritual (for Sunday outings) and the menu was always the same: cornmeal-coated catfish with its golden-brown crusty exterior and moist white inner flesh; deep-fried hush puppies; deep-fried potatoes; and coleslaw.”

“Now that catfish are being raised in fresh water ponds,” he said, “they are available frozen all over the country and can be used in any recipe calling for a white non-oily fish. Even after freezing and defrosting, catfish remain snow white and as firm as when taken from the water.”

Willard Scott, the retired weatherman from NBC’s “The Today Show,” once said: “If I go down for anything in history, I would like to be known as the person who convinced the American people that catfish is one of the finest eating fishes in the world.” North Carolina Is A Catfish Paradise

Mary Syrett of Raleigh, a freelance outdoor writer, says catfish are as much fun to catch as they are to eat … if you know the right “fishing holes,” and “North Carolina is a catfish paradise.”

The tactic of these tasty freshwater fish is to hug the bottom of rivers and reservoirs, thereby staying largely under the radar, Syrett said.

“Channel catfish are found in most North Carolina rivers and lakes. While not much to look at, they always put up a good fight and make for delicious eating,” she said.

Prime rivers to pursue catfish include the Cape Fear, Roanoke, Tar, Neuse and Yadkin. World’s ‘Catfish Capital’ Is Savannah, Tenn.

Ready for a road trip to the heart of “catfish country?”

It’s about 815 miles “around your elbow” from Morehead City to Savannah, Tenn., but the “best catfish dinner in the world” will be waiting for you at Hagy’s Catfish Hotel.

That’s the opinion of OneSouthernMan.com, a blog maintained by Paul Stanley. He is a former state legislator, investment banker and a native of Savannah, a small city of about 7,000 inhabitants. He’s also been a Hagy’s “frequent diner” since childhood.

The community and the restaurant are situated in southwest Tennessee on the Tennessee River, a world-class destination for catfish anglers, about two hours east of Memphis.

Savannah’s claim to fame as the “Catfish Capital of the World” dates back to 1953, when local industrialist Cecil Parris convinced the local postmaster to add that designation to the postmark used to cancel mail. Parris was described as a “catfish enthusiast.”

Stanley said: “As the Hagy family tale goes, Henry and Polly Hagy first docked a flatboat along the banks of the Tennessee River in 1825 and laid claim to several acres. They supported their family by building a riverfront store to supply steamboats and other river travelers.”

“In 1938, toward the end of the Depression years, Norvin and Dorothy Hagy held a fish fry for their good friend, Tennessee Gov. Gordon Weaver Browning, who was running for his second term,” Stanley said. “Gov. Browning told the Hagys their catfish and hushpuppies were so good they should open a restaurant. That’s exactly what they did.”

“The ‘hotel’ part came into play when travelers who arrived by boat would eat and stay overnight instead of tackling the river in darkness,” Stanley said.

Thus, the restaurant took on the nickname of “Catfish Hotel.

“I have a feeling some good ole Tennessee moonshine may have played a part in their guests’ wise decision to remain on dry land,” Stanley added.

When his parents were courting (Adam Stanley and Bettye Lanier), they often enjoyed Friday evening catfish dinners at Hagy’s. “Daddy would carry a small bottle of whiskey in a brown paper bag. He and Momma would sit down, order their fish, and have a little toddy before the meal,” Paul Stanley recalled.

“Norvin would soon deliver their plates and proceed to sit down, helping himself to the bottle my dad had worked so hard to secure for his weekly date. Momma said she never could understand why Daddy had to buy two meals AND provide Norvin with his liquid refreshment, too. They were lifelong friends.”

Oldtimers recall the stories about the reason why this stretch of Tennessee River near Savannah offered an abundance of catfish. It’s because near here the “river begins to flow backward” and the fish congregate.

What they mean is: The Tennessee River turns and flows practically straight north from Savannah until it empties into the Ohio River, at Paducah, Ky. The fish merely have to pause and get their bearings, resetting their internal GPS systems.

It’s true, the Tennessee River travels 652 miles and ends up north from where it begins just outside Knoxville, Tenn. A few nips of hooch help make all of this perfectly clear.

Now, the third generation of Hagys is at the helm. Jim Hagy (grandson of Norvin and Dorothy) said: “Given our location, hardly anyone can walk to the restaurant, so whenever the staff sees a car pull up, they realize those folks made an effort to come, and we need to make sure the food and overall experience are worth the trip.”

Jim Hagy grew up cleaning catfish and working in the kitchen. “It comes down to dressing, seasoning and cooking,” he says. “The quality of the fish, the temperature of the oil and cooking length are critical to great southern fried catfish. And people may be surprised there’s not a ton of seasoning on our deep-fried catfish.”

Restaurant co-managers Barbara and Joey McAfee have been working with the Hagy family for more than 40 years now, extending the hand of southern hospitality to hundreds of customers on a daily basis.

‘Catfish’ Hunter: Northeast N.C.’s Favorite Son

One of the best Major League Baseball pitchers in the Hall of Fame is the late Jim “Catfish” Hunter of Hertford, who signed a pro contract after graduating from Perquimans County High School in 1964.

Born in 1946, James Augustus Hunter was the youngest of eight children raised by Abbott and Lillie Harrell Hunter, who were tenant farmers. The five Hunter boys labored on the farm and worked odd jobs to earn enough money to buy baseballs.

Early in his high school days, Jimmy Hunter was “discovered” by Clyde Kluttz, a former major league catcher from Rockwell, N.C. (in Rowan County). After a nine-year playing career, Kluttz became a scout for the Kansas City Athletics organization.

Kluttz had dialed in on a Hertford farm boy who could throw hard … but also had control of his pitches.

The Athletics’ (known simply as the A’s) team owner was Charlie Finley. When introduced to Jim Hunter, the 18-year-old rookie pitcher, Finley asked about his new player’s nickname.

Bob Ruegsegger, a freelance writer based in Virginia Beach, Va., said the boy meekly replied: “Jimmy.”

“Apparently, his unpretentious response didn’t satisfy Finley’s promotional compulsion,” Ruegsegger wrote. “‘You got to have a nickname, son, if you want to play professional ball,’ Finley insisted.”

Finley promptly asked Hunter what he liked to do. Hunter replied that he liked to hunt and fish. “Finley thought for a few minutes and decided that the ballplayer’s nickname would be ‘Catfish.’”

“Finley fabricated a story to corroborate the ‘authentic’ nickname he was assigning to his new pitcher. ‘You left home when you were 6 years old. Your momma and daddy couldn’t find you,’ Finley said. ‘When they finally found you, you had landed two catfish, and you had a third one on the line. They’ve been calling you ‘Catfish’ ever since.”

Ruegsegger said the dialogue continued: “Mr. Finley, no one has ever called me ‘Catfish,’” Hunter insisted.

“I just gave you $75,000,” Finley countered (a reference to Hunter’s signing bonus).

“Yes, sir. My name is ‘Catfish,’” Hunter conceded.