Record Catfish caught in Mississippi river in ILLinois
#1
Record Catfish caught in Mississippi river in ILLinois
The 124-pound blue catfish pulled Tim Pruitt's boat around the river. It took Pruitt more than 30 minutes to land it.
Handout from Illinois DNR Link- http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2005-...-catfish_x.htm
But this is no fish story. Early Sunday, Tim Pruitt caught a 124-pound blue catfish.
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, eight 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 a half 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 was to be put on display in a tank at the Cabela's Outfitter store in Kansas City, Kan., but it died during transport, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Pruitt, 33, of Godfrey, Ill., 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."
The 124-pound blue catfish pulled Tim Pruitt's boat around the river. It took Pruitt more than 30 minutes to land it.
Handout from Illinois DNR
But this is no fish story. Early Sunday, Tim Pruitt caught a 124-pound blue catfish.
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, eight 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 a half 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 was to be put on display in a tank at the Cabela's Outfitter store in Kansas City, Kan., but it died during transport, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Pruitt, 33, of Godfrey, Ill., 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."
(Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. )
That beat the record by 40 pounds! wow! what pound test line was he using!
Handout from Illinois DNR Link- http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2005-...-catfish_x.htm
But this is no fish story. Early Sunday, Tim Pruitt caught a 124-pound blue catfish.
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, eight 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 a half 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 was to be put on display in a tank at the Cabela's Outfitter store in Kansas City, Kan., but it died during transport, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Pruitt, 33, of Godfrey, Ill., 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."
The 124-pound blue catfish pulled Tim Pruitt's boat around the river. It took Pruitt more than 30 minutes to land it.
Handout from Illinois DNR
But this is no fish story. Early Sunday, Tim Pruitt caught a 124-pound blue catfish.
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, eight 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 a half 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 was to be put on display in a tank at the Cabela's Outfitter store in Kansas City, Kan., but it died during transport, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Pruitt, 33, of Godfrey, Ill., 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."
(Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. )
That beat the record by 40 pounds! wow! what pound test line was he using!
#3
Record Catfish caught in Mississippi river in ILLinois
Yea I seen it to. Caught it about 2 hours from me.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] That's a big catfish, you can bet there's a bigger one out there somewhere. I plan to spend a weekend on the Mississippi to try and find out.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
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#10
Record Catfish caught in Mississippi river in ILLinois
Oh yeah no doubt it was for money, he was getting paid big bucks so the public could see it, i do not know if they are going to still give him the money even after it died, they should because they offered, heck of a wall hanger though, that lucky taxidermist! i bet what their gonna do now is make copies of the fish at a taxidermy and put them in multiple stores, now having said that, he probably willl get paid.