'Hillbilly Handfishin'': Shan Redeems Himself By Catching A Massive Catfish (VIDEO)

Shan's relationship with his mom Carla had been deteriorating since he moved to Florida, so they thought a spot of "Hillbilly Handfishin'" (Sin., 8 p.m. EST on Animal Planet) could be an excellent way of reconnecting and spending some quality time together.

However, the week they spent learning the ancient and often controversial art of handfishing, or "noodling" with Skipper Bivins and the gang, was not all fun and games.

A clearly terrified Carla was uncomfortable being in the water and the catches just weren't going Shan's way. After a frustrating week, he was in danger of being out-smarted by the catfish and out-fished by his mom.

Would Shan ever be able to catch something big and redeem himself in the process?

As he said, on his last day he was finally "in the right place at the right time and one was finally coming my way." Veteran handfisher Trent Jackson admired Shan's determination. "You could see the look in his eye. This guy has got to prove himself."

As a huge catfish passed close to him, Shan managed to grab it and hold on as it wrestled to get free. At the end of the battle he rose victorious out of the water clutching his haul -- a monstrous 50-lber that was longer than his torso.

Can't get enough of handfishing? Check out Marion noodling another 50-lb giant on the "Mudcats" Series Premiere. "Hillbilly Handfishin'" airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST on Animal Planet.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

Related on HuffPost:

Launch Slideshow

Next Slideshow

More slideshows:

Brad Smith: 'The Bachelor Canada' Revealed

'Frasier's' Tossed Salad And Scrambled Eggs Among Top 10 Weirdest TV Theme Songs (VIDEO)

James Van Der Beek: I Would Never Do 'Dancing With The Stars'

'Revenge' On ABC: Nolan Hosts Recap Exclusive, Explaining Show From The Beginning (VIDEO)

Lee Rich Dead: TV Mogul Behind 'The Waltons,' 'Dallas' And 'Eight Is Enough' Dies

'American Bandstand': Dick Clark's Greatest Moments (VIDEOS)

'Laverne And Shirley' To 'Growing Pains': Inspiring TV Theme Songs

'Girls' Reviews: New HBO Show And Lena Dunham Face Backlash On Racism And More

Restart slideshow

 Hide Thumbnails

Sort by Ranking

SHARE

BACK TO ARTICLE

1 of 23

PLAY ALL

VOTE ON THIS SLIDE

ADVERTISEMENT

Comments

[Kazzim Zongo]

04:09 PM on 02/14/2012

A fish with a rope through its mouth? Hmmm...

[ByThePowerOfGrayskull]

10:40 AM on 02/14/2012

These fish have 13th Amendment rights!

What? Wrong aquatic species . . . ?

[pkacp]

05:31 AM on 02/14/2012

strange that the fish came out of the water with a rope through it's mouth??? didn't look right?

[jflorish]

10:08 PM on 02/13/2012

I hope they are at least eating them because holding big fish by the jaw actually kills them (dislocated their jaw and on many fish also damages the gills where it connects to them.... they swim away fine, then die shortly after).

[rosasturtles1]

09:37 PM on 02/13/2012

i guess he's proud of himself...i doubt it's real..

[fhmjam]

08:50 PM on 02/13/2012

Biggest fish I ever saw was strung down the Mississippi River from Red Wing, Minnesota to Vicksburg, Ms. His tail splashed the good citizens of Red Wing at the same time he was spitting something on a little boy in Vicksburg. Took him three days to pass through the Alton Lock and Dam (Alton, Il.) and the Army Corps of Engineers had to talk to Washington, D.C. to figure how much and who to bill (ended up Ted Turner and Sting volunteered to pay, God bless 'em). Now I'm not sayin' there may not be bigger fish; that's just the biggest one I ever saw.

[wallac]

09:03 PM on 02/13/2012

And you used him for bait to catch the big ones, Right?

[nonpolit123]

08:02 PM on 02/13/2012

It was faked. Didn't everyone see the string coming out of the fishes mouth. The fish didn't have a fair chance.

[jbrainard152]

04:22 AM on 02/14/2012

you caught it to. thought I was seeing things

[nonpolit123]

04:32 AM on 02/14/2012

I have an unfair advantage. I am retired law enforcement. We are taught to look for details. I used to watch tv with my dad and point out the mistakes on programs due to poor choregraphy. (not sure if i spelled that right )

[belldn3]

07:02 PM on 02/13/2012

This is exactly why the South is an embarrassment to this country. " We don't need a rod Bubba Ray, I got two good hands". Yehhhhh Hawwwwwwww!

[simpleperson]

08:57 PM on 02/13/2012

You be from Detroit?

[mikecross]

09:00 PM on 02/13/2012

Wat de matter wit dat?

[belldn3]

09:17 PM on 02/13/2012

You be uneducated? You be toothless. You be broke?

[4Ueducatedidiots]

11:27 PM on 02/13/2012

Shiite, they are going to be the only ones to survive if a natural catastrophy hits this country. Say what you will bu they seem more happy than you whiney libs

Libertarian

[belldn3]

04:32 PM on 02/14/2012

So.........You think they will out live the cockroach? Apparently you don't know much.

[rhondajohn]

05:17 PM on 02/13/2012

From now on he's the infamous three-fingered hand fishin' champ!

[Canefighter]

04:58 PM on 02/13/2012

They normally release those large catfish, the meat takes on a muddy taste. They do make good money from tourists.

[360Dunk]

04:26 PM on 02/13/2012

Do female catfish have whiskers?

[Sam Hill 01]

08:20 PM on 02/13/2012

They shave them to look more sexy for the bigger Catfishy's

[Dana S]

04:17 PM on 02/13/2012

FAked , note there is a stringer on the fish when he "catches " it. "reality TV. Ha. !

[rhondajohn]

05:14 PM on 02/13/2012

Way to go! The folks there can spot a return customer a mile away!
P.S. I don't really think this is hillbilly, most are way tto smart to fish by hand.

[RicksRight]

02:36 PM on 02/13/2012

Disgusting how it is accepted and politically correct to use white racial slurs but no others. That's because it's racist.

[Sam Hill 01]

03:49 PM on 02/13/2012

Us cracker-honkeys don't get upset over the racial slurs. I can see your point though.

[4Ueducatedidiots]

12:57 AM on 02/14/2012

Your right, def. double standard but if your proud of what you are, you can laugh it off. Others can't cuz they have problem with themselves.

[Sam Hill 01]

01:10 PM on 02/13/2012

Dat fish sure gotta purdy mouth....lol

[360Dunk]

04:25 PM on 02/13/2012

Ah'm fixin' ta strum a banjo and watch Deliverance again, y'all.

[Sam Hill 01]

07:53 PM on 02/13/2012

Yew kin haf ma fish brodder wen iam done....uh huh

[shortguy54]

12:00 PM on 02/13/2012

Yup, that's a big one, but they can get a lot bigger than that!