TUSCALOOSA | John Nichols just wanted a few catfish to fry up for supper. Not long after dark on March 9, he got more than he bargained for.
I was looking eight or 10 this size to eat, Nichols said, holding his hands about 18 inches apart.
He went home that night with a 120-pound blue catfish that is the new state record. The Samantha resident caught it in Holt Reservoir, and thats about as much as hes going to say about the location.
Nichols was fishing with friend Robbie Tierce, who played a crucial role in netting the fish. He had it weighed on a certified scale at Tuscaloosa Scale Co. Inc. There were five witnesses and the weight was notarized. District Fisheries Biologist Jay Haffner certified the record.
The big fish easily beat the old state record and previous rod and reel world record held by William P. McKinley of Elkmont of 111 pounds. It was caught from Wheeler Reservoir, on July 5, 1996. The current rod and reel world record is 143 pounds caught at John H. Kerr Reservoir in Virginia.
Catfish in that size range are extremely uncommon, said Michael Holley, a district fisheries biologist located at the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries office in Eastaboga. He estimates only about 3 percent of the total catfish population in the Tennessee River, where an abundance of skipjack herring help boost the size of catfish, ever reach the 50-100 pound class.
Its like a 12-pound bass, he said.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120318/NEWS/120319723/1015/sports?p=1&tc=pg
I was looking eight or 10 this size to eat, Nichols said, holding his hands about 18 inches apart.
He went home that night with a 120-pound blue catfish that is the new state record. The Samantha resident caught it in Holt Reservoir, and thats about as much as hes going to say about the location.
Nichols was fishing with friend Robbie Tierce, who played a crucial role in netting the fish. He had it weighed on a certified scale at Tuscaloosa Scale Co. Inc. There were five witnesses and the weight was notarized. District Fisheries Biologist Jay Haffner certified the record.
The big fish easily beat the old state record and previous rod and reel world record held by William P. McKinley of Elkmont of 111 pounds. It was caught from Wheeler Reservoir, on July 5, 1996. The current rod and reel world record is 143 pounds caught at John H. Kerr Reservoir in Virginia.
Catfish in that size range are extremely uncommon, said Michael Holley, a district fisheries biologist located at the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries office in Eastaboga. He estimates only about 3 percent of the total catfish population in the Tennessee River, where an abundance of skipjack herring help boost the size of catfish, ever reach the 50-100 pound class.
Its like a 12-pound bass, he said.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120318/NEWS/120319723/1015/sports?p=1&tc=pg
