​Founded by Lanny Parkhurst, Big Whiskers has become what locals call "One little honey hole of a fishing pond". Billed as "Tennessee's "Home of the Monster Cats", he has turned an old fashioned workin' man's pastime into a recreation business...
​Our success was built by good Charma...
​The Legend Of Big Mel...
​This famous little fishing hole was originally dug out and filled as a place for Lanny's special needs step daughter, Crystal Gail, to call her own and fish with her Daddy.

​A life altering divorce from little Crystal's Mother forced Lanny to liquidate the beautiful home they had together connected to the 20 acres that is now Big Whiskers.
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THE SHORT END OF A LONG STORY: Divorce is hard enough on its own, which is why Lanny attempted to take the high road and not argue over monetary issues. He offered Crystal Gail's Mother 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the home provided that he could keep Crystal's Pond and the 20 acres it sat on.
​She immediately agreed to the terms. Thinking he was making the best of a bad situation, Lanny's new bachelorhood yielded a wonderful little agricultural adventure that has become the hottest spot to fish in the State of Tennessee.
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Lanny will tell you to this day that he started this little venture putting together one ten dollar bill at a time, and the reason he has had success with Big Whiskers is because it was built for the right reason.
To make little Crystal Gail smile... And in her honor, Special needs children and adults are never charged a dime to enjoy the Pond and many organizations, work with Big Whiskers to hold charity events to help Others in need.."We strive to be a point of Light for Others"..Lanny Parkhurst
The most sought after Monster Cat at Big Whiskers is the one and only elusive Big Mel.
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Named after Lanny's Mentor, his Father, Mel F. Parkhurst, Lanny decided to name the pond mascot to keep the memory of his Dad alive for the life of his new business adventure before his passing...Lanny will tell you "He's a big, mean, ornery, pole breakin' SOB"!!!
​Recent News, & the birth of Catfish Warz...
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​After 7 Years of growth and building a clientel of great local fisherman, Lanny began the process of increasing awareness about his farm through social marketing via FACEBOOK and other WEB related promotional concepts.
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While doing so, he took a break to utilize one of the search engines to locate his old friend and Producer Gary Wayne Bridges. Through the magic of FACEBOOK they reconnected and immediately began reminiscing and swapping war stories to get caught up on what has been happening in their lives since they last saw each other.
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After hearing about what Lanny had been up to, his old buddy Bridges had informed him that he had moved his career into mainstream Reality Television after 15 years producing live Casino Events. He then told Lanny that as hot as these new fishing shows are, there could quite possibly be a new show idea lingering down there at Big Whiskers.
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Now, Lanny at this point was just happy to be back in contact with a long lost friend and said, "Listen man I don't know anything about all of that TV stuff...I'm just excited to sit down with you here at the pond on my front porch with a cup of coffee and show you what I've built with my own two hands over the last few years."
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Taking the invitation to heart after several long talks on the phone, Bridges finally made his way down to Big Whiskers with a couple of cameras and another producer to innocently check everything out and maybe catch some candid interviews with a few of the fisherman Lanny had been bragging so much about.
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After meeting several of the Anglers and interviewing them through informal screen tests Bridges knew immediately that his gut instinct was right. He then told Lanny ​​"There's a Show in Them There Hills Son...I'm Tellin' You"!!!​​​
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​Once he reviewed the footage he called his Partner (Producer Kevin Wayne) and told him there was definately something wonderful waiting to happen down there at Big Whiskers for television and we should capture what we can and produce a pitch reel for the Networks. After reviewing the rough-cut work Kevin agreed that hands down there was no doubt a pitch-able Show Concept there.
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That being said, Kevin, Gary, and their young gun slinger Producer/Editor Matt Voss headed out to Big Whiskers and began producing the Teaser Reel that has put Lanny and his cohorts right smack in the middle of a deal with one of the Best Production arms in the industry that will be taking the Show that is lovingly titled in good ole backwoods style "Catfish Warz" with a "Z" to TV in 2016
STAY TUNED AND WE'LL KEEP YOU POSTED ON THE SHOW'S PROGRESS BOYS & GIRLS...
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Big Mel September 2012