Fish

The definition of a phobia is a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it. I'm plagued with Ichthyophobia. (phobia of fish)

I'm not thinking this is so irrational. See, I'm from Oklahoma. You don't need to go to the coast to find some fish that could have swallowed Jonah in one, maybe two bites; although I doubt he would have lived through it. You can find those kinds of monsters right here in this land locked state in the same lakes and rivers that countless people swim in every summer.

When I was a kid, I caught a gar on my mickey mouse fishing pole. Exibit A...

The one I caught wasn't this big, but a mouth full of teeth is scary even if its only 2 feet long. This picture is an 8'2" and 244.5lb Alligator Gar caught in the Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas. The biggest catch on record for Oklahoma is 184 pounds.

Exibit B...

 

Catfish Noodling is a "sport" where morons stick their hands down inside a catfish nest and try to get the biggest fish they can find to BITE THEIR HANDS. Then they pull the fish up while it's trying to eat them. I'll pause here while you question their sanity... 

 

What I hear most often is that they don't come up to the surface. It's really deep. They're way down on the bottom. If they're down so deep, how are these people (without scuba gear) pulling them out with their hands?! The gar in the first picture was shot with arrows while the fish was on THE SURFACE of the water.

Irrational fear? I think not. I will NEVER swim in a lake. Ever.

Ever.