LAKE ELSINORE - Some think he's dead.

Others say he never was put into Lake Elsinore.

He's in there all right, lurking about like the infamous Nessie of Scotland's Loch Ness.

So says Bill Tucker, a one-man promotion team for Whiskers, a monstrous 47-pound catfish that was placed into the lake as part of a fish stocking program in March 2000.

David Bauman The Press-Enterprise Bill Tucker of Lake Elsinore at the eastern shoreline of Lake Elsinore holds the head to a costume he wears around town. Tucker wears the costume to promote Whiskers, a 47-pound catfish that was placed into the lake in March 2000.

Tucker, a 59-year-old retired supermarket worker, wears a catfish costume at fishing derbies and maintains a hot line waiting for anyone to call.

Farm-raised, Whiskers was 10 years old when he was first released into Lake Elsinore.

Whiskers, a blue catfish and channel catfish hybrid, is believed by local fishermen to have put on some weight and length since taking up residency in the lake.

However, by catfish standards, Whiskers likely hasn't broken any size or weight records -- yet. Tucker said the fish with the feline-like feelers on their faces can grow up to 100 pounds and live 50 or 60 years.

Call the hot line

Ring the hot line anytime and Tucker promises to return the call. He's ready to swing out to verify anyone's fish story and tell people where to go for the $200 in prize money. It's Tucker's way of trying to promote the lake as a cool place to fish.

Tucker says that he'd prefer that anyone lucky enough to land the big fish try to keep him alive as long as possible. He says snapping a few photos and returning him to the water would be the humane way to treat Whiskers.

Tom Friend knows. He caught five rainbow trout Wednesday afternoon before running off to work. Like other anglers, he's got fish stories and knows folks still talk about Whiskers, adding to the bottom dweller's legend.

"I heard a Vietnamese gentleman caught him and let him go," said Friend, 41, of Lake Elsinore. "That's what I heard."

A year ago a man gave Tucker a call to inspect what turned out to be a Whiskers wannabe. It was in a bucket of water and turned out to be a 25-pounder.

"It had to have been dead at least three weeks," Tucker said. "It stunk to high heaven."

Come March, Tucker will probably throw Whiskers a birthday party. Next month he's planning to make more T-shirts sporting the question "Where's Whiskers?" He has already sold about 200.

Will anyone land Whiskers? Probably not, Tucker said.

"I know he's in there," Tucker said. "I've spotted him on my fish finder two or three times. I hope someone catches him to help prove he's still there. But then I hope they let him go."

Reach John Welsh at (909) 587-3137 or jwelsh@pe.com