Posted on 07/21/2010 11:08:55 AM PDT by Palter
Blue catfish weighs in at 130 pounds
A Missouri couple may have broken a 5-year-old world record by hauling in a 130-pound catfish Tuesday, beating the previous record set by a Godfrey fisherman by 6 pounds.
Until fisherman Greg Bernal, 47, of Florissant, Mo., can get the blue catfish verified as the world's largest catch, he will have to be satisfied knowing his catfish is certified as breaking the Missouri record.
Until Tuesday, that record was 103 pounds, said Dan Zarlenga, media specialist for the St. Louis Regional Office of the Missouri Department of Conservation.
"It's pretty amazing, world record or not," Zarlenga said. "It's incredible to see a fish of that size. It was very big, like a shark from 'Jaws.' It was a huge thing, and slippery. It was a bit of a challenge for (Bernal)."
How big was the fish? Try 57 inches long with a girth of 45 inches, the size of a short, portly person.
Bernal and friend Janet Momphard, of St. Charles, Mo., used pieces of the hated, invasive silver Asian carp while fishing from a boat in the Missouri River in the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. The area is about 3 miles north of Interstate 270, off Riverview Drive-Columbia Bottom Road, west of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers in Missouri.
Bernal used a Penn 320 GT2 reel and 40-pound wire to snag the catfish, but it took him and Momphard 45 minutes to battle the big, angry fish and two baskets to land it in their boat. It had taken the bait several hours after Bernal and Momphard had dropped the line at dusk Monday evening, shortly before it got dark.
"He took the bait at 12:45 a.m. (Tuesday)," Bernal said, taking 15 minutes to pull the giant to the boat. "He swam right at the boat, set the hook and, from there, it was a tug-of-war until I brought him to the surface. It took another half-hour to get him in the boat. We had to use a second net. It was not easy."
The duo finally pulled the fighting, monster fish into the boat at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Bernal said he immediately thought he might have a world-record catch.
"I 'knew' I had a record - hopefully," he said. "It looked like it probably would be a record."
Because he caught it in the middle of the night, Bernal could not get the fish to the Department of Conservation office at the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area in St. Charles County until later Tuesday morning.
By then, the fish had died.
Zarlenga said the catfish was weighed on a calibrated scale in New Melle, Mo., hitting 130 pounds exactly.
Later Tuesday, Bernal said he was not tired from bringing in the big catch and the ensuing commotion. He was busy filling out forms and assembling photographs, a fishing line sample, statements from witnesses and other documentation with which to claim the world record from the International Game Fish Association.
Bernal said he is unsure of what will happen to the carcass.
"I want to get a reproduction, a model," he said, hoping a sporting goods chain such as Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops might be interested in his catch.
Bernal's big catfish surpassed the weight of the 124-pound blue catfish that Tim Pruitt of Godfrey caught May 22, 2005, in the Mississippi River near the Melvin Price Locks and Dam 26 in Alton. Once hooked, the fish dragged the boat occupied by Pruitt, his wife, Carla, and a friend more than 3 miles down river.
Tim Pruitt then landed the fish after a 40-minute struggle. It was 58 inches long - 1 inch longer than Bernal's fish - with girth of 44 inches and was an estimated 30 years old.
That summer, the IGFA certified that Pruitt's catfish had set the world record, breaking the previous record of the 121-pound, 8-ounce blue catfish caught at Lake Texoma, Texas, in 2004.
Until Bernal's catfish is certified as the world record, Pruitt's fish retains the honor. If Bernal's catch bumps Pruitt's catfish from top place, Pruitt's fish still will hold the Illinois state record for heaviest blue catfish.
The previous Illinois record was set in 2000, when someone caught an 85-pound catfish 100 miles downstream from Alton.
A reporter was unable to reach Pruitt on Tuesday afternoon.
Greg Bernal of Florissant, Mo., poses with his trophy catch - a blue catfish that already holds the Missouri state record for that species. Weighing in officially at 130 pounds, the behemoth stands to take the prize as world record blue catfish. Bernal caught the fish early Tuesday morning in the Missouri River near its confluence with the Mississippi River.
That’s no “fish”....that’s “Mr. Fish”
Thats nothing. You should have seen the one I had...that got away.
Were I to catch a legendary fish like that I would snap a pic then throw him back.
Were I to catch a legendary fish like that I would snap a pic then throw him back.
Awesome!
Imagine all the crud that fella has eaten in his life.
That’s too bad that it died-It should have been thrown back to eat more of the blankin’ Carp!
“Bernal said he is unsure of what will happen to the carcass.”.....
It’s going to smell.....
Noodle that!
That is Fatty McFat Fish
That is one big ugly fish...
Hopefully next time he will catch an edible species.
You MUST be a Yankee....
You call that a big fish?
Bwaa ha ha ha- this is a big fish.
And these folks are gonna need a bigger boat
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1296474/Spot-endangered-species-yacht-trip-turns-modern-day-Moby-Dick-southern-right-whale-lands-deck-couple.html
I caught one bigger than that; we ate it for 2009....
Mmmmmmm yum! That’s a lot of fried catfish steaks.
That’s not a fish... technically.
Did you soak them in saltwater to get some of the muddy taste out?
I envy you being able to crab in your neck of the woods.
In my experience, soaking the fillets before cooking them always works to a degree. Of course, these are Arkansas freshwater cats.
I soak mine in buttermilk with a shot of hot sauce and beer.
lol
Have you tried that with other types of fish as well? Next time I catch some bluefish I’ll try that.
I usually only use that recipie on fresh water fish, or fish with a strong taste...but it should work on saltwater fish.
Ping!
Definitely soak em’ in buttermilk before frying!
Now of course, some people cook em’ other ways (yeck), which is why I always soak em’ in saltwater just after cleaning them ana before doing anything else....
True. I freeze them in saltwater.
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