A fisherman in Oklahoma returned home with something more than a meal for the whole family recently when he managed to reel in a catfish weighing almost 100 pounds.
Bradley Courtright was fishing on Pine Creek Reservoir in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, when he caught a 95-pound flathead catfish on a trotline, according to a report by Koco News 5. The massive catch was some 20 pounds larger than the rod and reel record, according to state officials.
A picture of Courtright holding his massive catch, which came up to chest height, was posted by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife of Conservation in a thread on their Twitter account. “Not to be too Oklahomish this early on a Tuesday morning — but do y’all wanna see a catfish the size of a 6th grader orrrr ????” they asked their over quarter of a million followers. “This fish is almost 20 lbs larger than the Rod and reel record but 11 lbs short of the unrestricted division record — which was caught on a trot line in 1977 in Wister Reservoir.”
Courtright’s spectacular haul delighted and impressed many of the department’s followers on the social media platform with one claiming that it was, “Enough catfish to feed a family of 8.”
“He caught the granddaddy of all granddaddies, granddaddy JFC … that’s fucking BEAUTIFUL 😍 I’m salivating rn,” another user replied. One user, Lexey Branscum, even claimed to be the great-granddaughter of the 1977 record holder, sharing a picture on the thread. (RELATED: Lucky Australian Teen Catches Barramundi Fish And Wins $1 Million)
My great grandpa caught that one in 1977. 106 pounds!! pic.twitter.com/CBMVBjKvkz
— Lexey Branscum (@lexeypaige22) May 28, 2024
Despite the impressive size of the catch, it wasn’t even the biggest recorded in the United States in 2024. That honor goes to 15-year-old Jaylynn Parker who caught an Ohio blue catfish that weighed 101.11 pounds, measuring 56 inches long by 39 inches, in the Ohio River in April, according to a report in USA Today.
