15-year-old angler goes viral after catching rare catfish in Tennessee River

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WTVC) — You might call it, "The catfish catch heard around the world."

Last week, Edwards Tarumianz caught a rare, leucistic blue catfish from the Tennessee River, near downtown Chattanooga. Leucism is caused by a very rare, recessive gene. It is similar to being born with albinism, with an almost total lack of color pigmentation, except it does not have the characteristic pink eye of an albino person.

Edwards was fishing with guide and NewsChannel9.com outdoors writer, Capt. Richard Simms.

"We were shocked when we saw it," Simms said. "Of course, we could see it in the clear water before we actually had it in the boat. We were both so excited and nervous we could barely speak until Edwards finally led the fish into the net."

Albino or leucistic catfish are caught periodically around the country, but for fishermen, it is somewhat similar to hitting the lottery.

“Edwards may catfish for the rest of his life and never catch, or even see, another fish like that," Simms said. "I am 67 years old. I have boated literally tens of thousands of catfish over the years and this was the first I'd ever seen in person."

Simms posted about the rare catch on his Facebook page, along with the many other fish Edwards caught that day. Primarily due to the rare nature of the white catfish, the post soon went viral within the fishing community.

A writer for Field & Stream magazine saw the post and placed a story on the popular magazine's website. From there, the viral snowball continued downhill, inspiring stories in Newsweek magazine and USA Today.

At about the same time, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) jumped on the bandwagon, sharing news of Edwards' catch.

"We all agree that it is a great and rare catch," a TWRA spokesperson told Field & Stream.

TWRA has hundreds of thousands of Facebook followers. Their post was shared thousands of times, ultimately attracting the attention of websites around the world.

"It is bizarre when you read a story announcing "a 15-year-old boy caught a white catfish in the United States," said Capt. Simms. "I've seen multiple stories about Edwards' catch now on international websites, not to mention dozens of websites based in the U.S. I know other people who have caught such fish and, of course, shared it on social media. I'll never fully understand why this one went viral internationally – other than the fact that Edwards is very photogenic. No doubt the picture of the rare fish and the handsome youngster helped."

It wasn't included in Simms' original post, but on social media numerous people wanted to know what Edwards did with the fish. The captain responded with this video of Edwards releasing his catch:

Edwards and his father, Jeff, are hardcore anglers and have fished many places. They, too, are amazed at how news of the catch and the photo have spread around the world.

"It's incredible how it's blown up," said Jeff. "We've had friends from all over saying they saw it."

Even if he had chosen to keep the fish, taxidermists are unable to mount actual catfish because their skin is too fragile. Jeff, however, said he intends to have a replica mount of the rare white cat created.

Hopefully, he will also save and print the dozens, or hundreds, of stories published around the world about the catch. There is no doubt Edwards has received his so-called "15 minutes of fame," and then some.

"Edwards is one of the most polite young men I've ever had in the boat," said Simms. "He is also one of the most accomplished 15-year-old anglers I've ever been around. It was a very special morning, capped off by a catfish unlike any I've ever seen before - and may never see again!"