Top 15 Joe Pedulla Facts

1. Joe Pedulla uses hunks of his own bloody flesh for bait.

2. Joe Pedulla once went fishing in the Dead Sea in Israel and caught three striped bass, 11 smallmouth bass, seven lake trout, two pickerel, and 147 perch.

3. A waiter was found clutching his groin in the back alley of a seafood restaurant. The police determined that the waiter attempted to place a lobster bib on Joe Pedulla. Nobody places a lobster bib on Joe Pedulla! The police declined to file charges because this was case was deemed a legitimate use of limited force.

4. Only Mrs. Pedulla tells Joe Pedulla when he can fish, not the government.

5. Infinity is too small a number to count the number of perch caught by Joe Pedulla during his lifetime.

6. Joe Pedulla is the only person ever to catch nine catfish, six striped bass, and 96 perch in the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.

7. Since 1986, Joe Pedulla has written 1,175 poems, 247 short stories, 201 book reviews, five novels, 12 novellas, four plays, 124 power ballads, and two screenplays while fishing. None of them have ever seen the light of day because the public just isn't ready for them.

8. Joe Pedulla once caught a 212 lbs. catfish by pointing to the deck of his boat and saying, "Up here, boy."

9. A school of Chilean sea bass once migrated to the Hudson River for the sole privilege of being caught by Joe Pedulla.

10. Joe Pedulla once threatened to sue the estate of the author Herman Melville, alleging that Moby-Dick (1851) plagriaizes his real life. Pedulla agreed not to sue after it was pointed out to him that Moby-Dick predates his birth by 111 years, and that Captain Ahab dies in the novel.

11. Joe Pedulla once caught a 25-pound catfish using only elastic from his underwear, a used toothpick, and his own spit as bait.

12. Joe Pedulla is able to eat 10 lbs. of fish a day he catches from the Hudson River because his unique body chemistry is able to convert PCBs into carbon dioxide.

13. A grizzly bear once interrupted Joe Pedulla when he was fishing. Joe Pedulla easily subdued the bear with a sleeper hold. After that, Joe Pedulla and the grizzly became good friends, and their story formed the basis of the beloved 1970s TV-show, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.

14. Joe Pedulla once performed William Shakespeare's Hamlet in its entirety by himself while fishing. After he finished, Joe Pedulla received a non-stop, 15-minute standing ovation from all the fishermen, kayakers, boaters, and on-lookers who were lucky enough to be in the area.

15. Joe Pedulla missed the gunfight at the O.K. Corral because he was too busy fishing.