iStockphoto / abadonian
An angler from Bridgeville, Delaware just fished his way into the record books after landing a massive blue catfish on the Nanticoke River earlier this month.
The state record blue catfish battled him for a while before succumbing to the net. Angler Chris Andrews told the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife “I knew it was a big one, just not how big” after the initial strong tug on his line.
For a statewide press release on his new Delaware fishing record, Andrews went on to say “I got the fish up and close to the boat multiple times, but it would just take off pulling my drag. I had a smaller net than usual, so it took multiple tries (to get it into the boat). After about a 5-minute fight, the fish was landed.”
Fishing News: New State Record Blue Catfish In Delaware
After using his smaller net to wrangle the fish into the boat, Chris Andrews knew he had something special on his hands. So he and his fishing buddies sped off to the Taylored Tackle Shop in Seaford to have his catfish record weighed.
Once weighed at the Taylored Tackle Shop, his record-setting blue catfish tipped the scales at 48-pounds, 7.2-ounces. The previous state fishing record in Delaware for Blue Catfish was 48-pounds, 3.2 ounces so he nabbed the new record by a mere 4 ounces.
The new state fishing record was certified on the spot at Taylored Tackle Shop by Sgt. Nathan Evans of the Delaware Natural Resources Fish and Wildlife Police. That helped fast track this fish into the record books where in many states it can be a lengthy process.
According to Delaware Online, this new blue catfish record marks the 4th state fishing record broken in Delaware this year. Those records are tracked as part of the annual Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament which runs from January 1st to December 31st. It keeps track of records for youth and adult anglers and hands out awards accordingly.
What Is The Biggest Blue Catfish Ever Caught?
For context, the IGFA fishing world record for Blue Catfish is nearly triple the size of this blue caught in Delaware.
Angler Richard Nicholas Anderson caught a 143 pound blue catfish on Kerr Lake in Buggs Island, Virginia back on June 18, 2011. That’s about 5 and a half hours / 300 miles north of where this Delaware state record blue catfish was landed earlier this month.
Last April, a Mississippi angler smashed a state record with a fish that sniffed the world record books. His 131-pound blue catfish is one of the biggest blues caught in recent years.