Illinois Fishermen Catch Massive Eel in the Mississippi

There are stories of massive creatures in the Mississippi River that I've heard about for decades. Now, there's some proof that at least some of those fish tales are true as fishermen have just caught a massive eel in the Mississippi River near Hannibal.

I just came across this amazing catch (literally) by the Illinois River Biological Station. I believe this was shared on August 4, 2026 on their social media pages. It's a massive 37 inch eel that they pulled from the river.

In case you can't read their small text on your device, here's what they shared about this rare creature:

"We were shocking a wing dam near Hannibal MO on Pool 22 looking for blue suckers for a graduate research project, one of my techs had just put a blue sucker in the live-well when the grad student (who's also a technician for Missouri Department of Conservation) excitedly lunged out with his net and spun back around with a huge grin on his face - "EEL!" he exclaimed! And a big one to boot, probably the biggest American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) I've ever seen, just shy of 950 mm, or just over 37"."

Like true sportsmen, they released the eel back into the river after capturing these pics. I've heard stories about catfish that are as big as a grown man hanging out under bridges on the Mississippi. There are even confirmed reports of a bull shark that was caught once near Alton, Illinois. This is the first account of an eel that I've seen in the Mississippi River. Never a dull moment in this legendary waterway.