I caught one in the Noluchucky River in East Tennessee on number 3 circle hook with a nightcrawler on it. I had just put that hook on my spiderwire and threw it in. I thought I had a young catfish on my line. I reeled it in and out pops a hellbennder over a foot long. When you hook it with a circle hook, you can't get it out. I saw if I pulled harder I was going to hurt or kill it, so as much as it pained me to do, I cut the hook into. Hooks are expensive. He had a hole in his mouth where the hook embedded and hooked him, but I think 95 percent he lived. I reported I caught this to TVA and as usual, they are a waste of taxpayer money. They told me I didn't catch one, because they don't go that far down River. I like how stupid they are wanting to argue with me, and they wasn't there, I was. I called them 2 other times about crimes against nature and they didn't do a damn thing. I don't know what they do, but it isn't their jobs. I'm researching these today because I want to get a few to go in a 50,000 gallon agarium. I will preserve some so they don't go extinct.
I learned about these when i was doing a biome project in third grade. when looking through a list of amphibians, I saw one called "hellbender" and was like :O omg a swear word...
I didn't know much about Hellbenders but now I do! I love the video. I think the nickname is Snot Otters is a pretty weird funky name but it makes sense. I am native to Arkansas and we can find a Ozark Hellbender here so it would be cool to find one and see how slimy their skin really is. Thanks for the video!
I grew up near North Bend Sate Park in W.V. My brother and i snagged one while fishing. We didn't know what it was so we took it to a park employee. It lived in a 100 gallon tank for many years at the nature center.
Hmmm where I found mine isnt colored on your map so maybe a 3rd type? North Fork of White River in south central Missouri but ive found them in northern Arkansas too.
Ive always wondered how fish eat those little Crayfish.. especially fish who just swallow their food whole... wont the crayfish start pinching their insides and kill them???
I live in Florida so I'm nowhere near where these guys are, but I have relatives and friends in western Virginia (note: not West Virginia), so maybe they have seen some of them!
