What’s better than spending a warm, sunny summer afternoon on the water? One man from Missouri was doing just that over Independence Day weekend in 2020 when he caught something peculiar while fishing.
Wade Kaminski brought in a 112-pound giant catfish that has made headlines since! The angler struggled for eight minutes to bring the five-foot-long blue catfish to the surface and into his boat.
“I initially thought I got into a snag,” says Kaminski. “I told my friend who was with me, I’m either snagged or I’ve got a monster. It was the biggest and baddest fight I’ve ever been involved with.”
A Prized Fish
Several states’ inland and coastal waters contain blue catfish. They are indigenous to the basins of the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Rio Grande rivers, but have been brought to other places largely as a target for recreational fishing. Because of their strength and intelligence, blue catfish are popular among anglers since they present a tough challenge.
Blue Catfish Sizing
Mature blue catfish often reach a length of fewer than two feet, but they have the potential to reach five feet and weigh over 100 pounds. One that was captured from a lake in the backcountry on the boundary of Virginia and North Carolina weighed 143 pounds. A 102-pound blue catfish captured in the James River holds the Chesapeake Bay record.
Catch and Release
The scale aboard Kaminski’s boat only reached 100 pounds, so he had to use a separate one because this catfish was just too big. Prior to spawning a few weeks prior, the fish most likely weighed even more! Kaminski weighed the fish and took some pictures of it before returning it to the Mississippi.
“This was the one I’ve been chasing my whole life,” Kaminski said.
Record Breaking Catch
Although catching a 112-pound catfish is something to brag about, it’s just shy of the state record. The honor of catching the biggest catfish in the state belongs to Greg Bernal of St. Louis. In July 2010, Bernal and Janet Momphard of St. Charles, his fishing partner, left for a trip to catch catfish on the Missouri River in St. Louis County close to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area.
©Ilir Hasa/Shutterstock.com
With a rod, reel, and 40-pound test line, Bernal set out to fish at about 9:00 pm. By 1:00 a.m., the two made the decision to end their trip because of impending storms. Later, at about 12:45 a.m., Bernal’s line becomes tighter.
Bernal finally caught a fish and got it to the boat after fifteen minutes. He and Momphard struggled with the beast for a half hour before getting it out of the water. Momphard noticed right away that her friend had caught a huge fish.
The two eventually made their way to get measurements of their catch. “When the weight master started pushing the sliding weights up the scale, he got past 100 pounds and just kept going,” Peper exclaimed. “When the scale finally balanced out at 130 pounds, we were in shock. It was amazing.”
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