Latest news with #bluecatfish
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man catches ‘monster' 86-pound catfish from Missouri River
WASHINGTON, Mo. – A man recently hauled in the catch of a lifetime from the Missouri River, a 'monster' 86-pound blue catfish near Washington, Missouri. Wally Klein made his impressive catch using gizzard shad as bait on a road-and-reel setup. His feat required patience, strength and skill. Wally told the Missouri Department of Conservation it's the biggest fish he has ever caught. After snapping a quick photo, Wally released the massive catfish back into the river. According to MDC, the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers are prime waters for catching large catfish, especially blue, flathead and channel catfish. Tonia Haddix found to be hiding another chimp These catfish often gather in deep water below dikes, in dam tailwaters, or in the mouths of tributary streams. In the summer, they're commonly found around submerged structures, drop-offs, rocky banks and dike tips. Blue catfish in particular, like Wally's catch, favor fast-moving water near the main channel and waterways with a strong current. The Missouri and Mississippi rivers, despite their potential, can be intimidating for anglers, especially after storms or flooding. Strong currents and deep water demand different fishing strategies than those used in smaller lakes or streams. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Georgia angler lands record-shattering blue catfish after epic battle
A Georgia angler has obliterated the Jackson Lake record for blue catfish with the catch of a 71.6-pound behemoth that was almost too large for the net. Walter Dorough, of Hillsboro, was fishing with multiple lines on the night of June 28 when the catfish took a slab of cut bluegill and began to run. 'It started doing circles around my 18-foot Tracker boat, and I had to work hard to keep the fish from tangling in my other lines,' Dorough, 39, told Wired2Fish. 'There wasn't much I could do. 'The fish even wrapped my fishing line around my boat anchor rope and I thought it would break off. But somehow, I got it out from around the rope and kept fighting the fish.' Dorough, who was using 30-pound-test line and a spinning outfit, told Georgia Outdoor News that he had been practicing for an upcoming tournament when the enormous catfish struck. ALSO: Fisherman beside himself during encounter with 'massive' orcas off Hawaii; video 'I was fishing by myself and never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd catch a fish like this,' he said. 'Our next tournament is on Jackson [July 26], and I was actually just trying to find some new spots.' The previous blue catfish record for Jackson Lake, set in October 2020, weighed 46 pounds, 7 ounces. Dorough added: 'She put up the best fight I've ever had. My biggest previous was 69 pounds in Alabama, and that fish didn't put up a fight… just kind of came up like a log, which a lot of the really big ones do. Not this fish. This one gave me a run for my money. You should have seen me trying to net it, only the head would fit.' The accompanying YouTube footage shows Dorough battling and netting the 'monstrous blue,' which was released after being weighed on a digital scale. It stands to reason that Dorough will be fishing the same area during the July 26 tournament. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Georgia angler lands record-shattering blue catfish after epic battle
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Georgia angler lands record-shattering blue catfish after epic battle
A Georgia angler has obliterated the Jackson Lake record for blue catfish with the catch of a 71.6-pound behemoth that was almost too large for the net. Walter Dorough, of Hillsboro, was fishing with multiple lines on the night of June 28 when the catfish took a slab of cut bluegill and began to run. 'It started doing circles around my 18-foot Tracker boat, and I had to work hard to keep the fish from tangling in my other lines,' Dorough, 39, told Wired2Fish. 'There wasn't much I could do. 'The fish even wrapped my fishing line around my boat anchor rope and I thought it would break off. But somehow, I got it out from around the rope and kept fighting the fish.' Dorough, who was using 30-pound-test line and a spinning outfit, told Georgia Outdoor News that he had been practicing for an upcoming tournament when the enormous catfish struck. ALSO: Fisherman beside himself during encounter with 'massive' orcas off Hawaii; video 'I was fishing by myself and never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd catch a fish like this,' he said. 'Our next tournament is on Jackson [July 26], and I was actually just trying to find some new spots.' The previous blue catfish record for Jackson Lake, set in October 2020, weighed 46 pounds, 7 ounces. Dorough added: 'She put up the best fight I've ever had. My biggest previous was 69 pounds in Alabama, and that fish didn't put up a fight… just kind of came up like a log, which a lot of the really big ones do. Not this fish. This one gave me a run for my money. You should have seen me trying to net it, only the head would fit.' The accompanying YouTube footage shows Dorough battling and netting the 'monstrous blue,' which was released after being weighed on a digital scale. It stands to reason that Dorough will be fishing the same area during the July 26 tournament. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Georgia angler lands record-shattering blue catfish after epic battle
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New bill would turn invasive catfish into pet food
The Chesapeake Bay has a lot of blue catfish, and that's a problem. Now, lawmakers have a plan to see if the invasive fish can be used as pet food. A bipartisan bill, introduced in Congress, is aimed at getting blue catfish out of the bay and into the pet food industry. READ MORE:
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Why are so many strange catfish coming out of this Kansas lake?
GEARY COUNTY (KSNT) – Oddly-colored catfish that are considered rare in other parts of the nation are being caught much more frequently in a Kansas lake and a team of biologists are trying to figure out why. 27 News got in touch with Ben Neely, a fisheries biologist with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP), this week to learn more about why there are so many leucistic and piebald blue catfish in Milford Lake. Biologists are trying to crack this mystery by studying the resident populations of the not-so-blue blue catfish in the water. Milford Lake is Kansas' largest body of water with 163 miles of shoreline, according to the Kansas City District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Its waters hold many varieties of native and sports fish, including a strong population of blue catfish. Neely said the KDWP first started stocking blue catfish into Milford Lake back in 1990. Biologists introduced more than 165,000 of these catfish to the lake in the following decade until a successful breeding population was established. What fish are bad for your health in Kansas? Anglers who are familiar with the lake may know that it's home to an unusually large population of blue catfish that appear completely white (leucistic) or black and white (piebald). While these fish are considered very rare outside of Milford Lake, often catching national attention whenever they are caught, they are not so uncommon for Kansas' biggest lake. Alex Bumgardner, an angler from Eureka in Greenwood County, was out fishing on Milford Lake on June 9 when he hooked a piebald blue catfish. He compared his catch to the appearance of a killer whale due to its black and white colors. 'I started yelling to everybody, 'come check this out!'' Bumgardner said. 'I was tickled to death.' Exotic pet fish are turning up in Kansas lakes, where do they come from? Bumgardner said this was his first time catching one of these weird-looking catfish. He released the catfish after snapping a photo to remember the special occasion, but thought it was still strange that so many anglers are catching piebald and leucistic blue catfish at Milford Lake. 'It's definitely weird to have that kind of population in that lake,' Bumgardner said. Neely and other biologists with the KDWP conducted an electrofishing study in 2024 to begin putting the pieces of the catfish mystery together and find out why there are so many blue catfish in the lake that have skin pigment mutations. The study not only included a survey of blue catfish in the water, but interviews with anglers as well. Neely said he was pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback he and others received while participating in the research. 'We've had some good positive reception on this,' Neely said. 'We're working with Emporia State University (ESU) to try to look at it a little deeper and the cause of it.' Will this legendary Kansas catfish world record ever be beat? Neely and his team members gathered some shocking results following the conclusion of the 2024 study. Of the 2,611 blue catfish pulled from the water, a total of 359 or 13.7% of them were either leucistic or piebald. Neely said these kinds of numbers haven't been seen anywhere else. 'Milford seems to be an anomaly,' Neely said. '13.7% of the fish we captured showed this, and that is high, very high.' The biologists hope that an answer might lie in studying the genetics of the blue catfish and the environmental factors present in the lake. Neely said it is possible that inbreeding in the lake's population of blue catfish might be the answer and that a larger-than-usual number of catfish were stocked in the lake initially that carried the genes which cause leucism or piebald colors to appear. He also said that many anglers, like Bumgardner, will release blue catfish that appear out of the ordinary while keeping normal-looking blue catfish. 'We've always noticed these fish in the population, but it seemed rare,' Neely said. 'One here, one there. To see that number, that over 13% are exhibiting these characteristics, is eye-opening.' What are the rarest fish you can catch in Kansas and where can you find them? Neely said the environment may be to blame with some unknown factor playing a part in the coloration changes, but that this shouldn't worry people who fish on or jump into the lake. He said that KDWP biologists will return to the lake later in June to begin a new round of research to tackle the secret behind Milford Lake's odd-colored blue catfish. For anglers like Bumgardner, the lake remains a popular fishing destination. Bumgardner said he plans to return to the lake again to try his luck with catching another piebald or leucistic blue catfish. 'Once someone hooks into something like that you get hooked on that spot,' Bumgardner said. Neely said KDWP biologists and geneticists with ESU will work together to try and solve the mystery in the days ahead. You can download a copy of the study conducted by the KDWP in 2024 by clicking here. Near-record fish caught, released in a northeast Kansas lake For more Kansas Outdoors, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
