Man catches 124 lb. catfish in Mississppi River..still alive...picture here

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...052401128.html


Man Hooks Whopper of a Catfish
124-Pounder Caught on Mississippi River Beats World Record

ALTON, Ill. (May 24) - It sounds like the sort of tale Mark Twain might have cooked up: A man fishing in the Mississippi River hauls in a blue catfish roughly the size of a sixth-grader. But this is no fish story. Early Sunday, Tim Pruitt caught a 124-pound blue catfish.

The two struggled for more than half an hour. At one point, the fish dragged the boat carrying Tim Pruitt, his wife and a friend before Pruitt could reel it in.


To get a sense of just how big that is, the state record holder was a mere 85 pounds and the world record holder tipped the scales at 121 pounds, 8 ounces.

Now, Pruitt, whose fish has already been weighed in the presence of a conservation police officer and measured by a biologist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, is expected to submit documentation to the International Game Fish Association so that it can be certified a world record holder.

Once that is done, the catch should be approved as the world's largest blue catfish, replacing the current champion that was caught Jan. 16, 2004, in Lake Texoma, Texas, said Becky Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the association.

Pruitt's fish, measuring 58 inches long and 44 inches around, was swimming below the Melvin Price Lock and Dam on the Mississippi River at Alton on Saturday night when it grabbed Pruitt's line. The two struggled for more than half an hour, and at one point the fish dragged the boat carrying Pruitt, his wife and a friend before Pruitt could reel it in.

The fish has been kept alive and will be on display in a tank at the Cabela's Outfitter store in Kansas City, Kan., according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Pruitt, 33, of Godfrey, told the (Peoria) Journal Star's outdoors columnist that he considered releasing the fish in the river but decided to donate it to Cabela's "because I thought it might be neat to give people a chance to see a fish that massive.''


05/24/05 22:56 EDT

[39mto39g]

This Blue cat ain't even close.

Cambodia's Mekong River Basin, home to an impressive range of freshwater leviathans. These include the Mekong giant catfish, officially the world's biggest river fish, which can tip the scales at more than 660 pounds (300 kilograms).

[MORTARDUDE]

The article means the world record blue catfish.

http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/art...98777342146340

this is the northern europe record wels catfish caught on a rod and reel

184 lb.

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/art...98777342146340

Spain rod and reel catfish record 192 lbs

[MORTARDUDE]

pic

[MORTARDUDE]

http://fishing.about.com/od/catfish/...ishrecords.htm


Catfish and Bullheads - How Big is Big?
From Ronnie Garrison,
Your Guide to Freshwater Fishing.
FREE GIFT with Newsletter! Act Now!

Catfish and Bullheads - Record Sizes
The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) recognizes eleven species of catfish for records and an additional three kinds of bullheads for records. I can't tell why they don't call a bullhead a catfish too. They surely do look like one! The IGFA also gives detailed information about all three types of bullheads and about four types of the catfish. All species offer the angler a wide variety of choices to try to catch.
The black bullhead is found naturally from southern Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico between the Appalachian mounts to Montana, and has been introduced in Arizona, California and other western states in the USA, as well as a few east of the Appalachians. Although the three species of bullheads are named by color, they all can vary throughout all the colors. You need a scientific definition to tell them apart but they are all excellent when fried! The record black bullhead weighed an even 8 pounds (3.62 kg) and was caught in New York, USA on August 1, 1951.

Brown bullheads are native to the eastern USA on both sides of the Appalachians and southern Canada but have been introduced in many other places. The species is often stocked in farm ponds since it is so good to eat. It is smaller than the black bullhead with the record at 5 lbs. 8 ozs. (2.49 kg) which was taken on May 22, 1975 in my home state of Georgia, USA.

Even smaller is the yellow bullhead. It is found on both sides of the Appalachians in the eastern USA and has been introduced into other areas. It seems to like more shallow, weedier waters than its other colored cousins. The record weighed 4 lbs. 4 ozs. (1.92 kg) and was caught in Arizona, USA on May 11, 1984.

The list of catfish starts out with the biggest of them all listed as a game fish. The blue catfish is native to the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio River basin systems in the USA, and south into Mexico and northern Guatemala. It has also been widely stocked in other areas. The record was a monster 109 lb. 4 oz. (49.55 kg) cat taken in South Carolina, USA on March 14, 1991. Bigger blue cats have been caught in non-sporting methods like trotlines and bank hooks and they reach weights over 120 lbs. (54 kg)

Channel catfish are the most common catfish you get in a restaurant. They are raised commercially throughout the world. It now is widespread in the wild all over the USA, southern Canada and northern Mexico. Prized as a sport fish for its fight and a food fish for its taste, it is very popular. The record is a 58 pounder (26.3 kg) caught in South Carolina, USA on July 7, 1964.

Flathead catfish have got to be the ugliest of the cats. They are native to the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio basins and as far east as Lake Erie and Florida. Its long, wide head gives it the name. Flatheads have become problems in some rivers in Georgia, eating native bream species almost to the point of eliminating the population. The largest flathead landed on rod and reel is a 91 lb. 4 oz. (41.39 kg) monster caught in Texas, USA on March 28, 1982.

White catfish are native to the east coast of the USA from Florida to New York. It is somewhat less nocturnal that other cats and is a popular gamefish. The record 18 lb. 14 oz. (8.56 kg) white cat was caught in Florida, USA on September 21, 1991.

Other catfish records include: Eurasian catfish, 26 lbs. 5 ozs. (12.0 kg) caught in Japan on June 10, 1995; flatwishered cat, 5 lbs, 13 ozs., Brazil on June 28, 1992; gafftopsail catfish, a mostly saltwater species, 8 lbs. 12 ozs. (3.96 kg) caught in Florida, USA on March 30, 1991; gilded cat at 85 lbs. 8 ozs. (38.8 kg) from the Amazon River in Brazil on November 15, 1986; hardhead cat, 3 lbs. 5 ozs. (1.07 kg) from Florida, USA on April 18, 1993; redtail catfish from Brazil, 97 lbs. 7 ozs. (44.2 kg) on July 16, 1988 and the sharptooth catfish weighing 79 lbs. 5 ozs. (36 kg) caught on December 5, 1992 in South Africa.

The IGFA record book also mentions the biggest cat of them all, the wels, which lives in central and eastern Europe and the southern Russia. It may grow to 440 pounds. No record is listed.

For more detailed information about all species of game fish, and records by line class, you can join the IGFA. Each member gets a copy of the annual World Record Gamefishes. All the above records were taken in a sporting manner on rod and reel and met the requirements to be in the record book

[Tina]

i seen that on the news.. noway in hell you would get me to eat that sucker if that was what he planned good thing he isn't planing on eating ..
tina

[Jerry D]

When I was a kid the divers at Table Rock lake in Missouri pulled out a Flathead catfish with a mouth the size of a Buick grill.The diver that stuck the grappling hook in the cat's mouth refused to go back down after the cat bit down on the grappling hook and scared the diver . This was back around 1968.

[revwardoc]

I was stationed with a guy from Mississippi who lived near the river. He said that, on his way to school, he would bring along a rancid piece of meat or some road kill or something, put it on a big hook attached to 50 foot rope, tie the rope to a sturdy tree limb, attach an old keg for a bobber, then go to school. On the way back he'd haul in a big ol' catfish and bring it home for supper. Ain't exactly sportin', but its good eatin'!