Minnesota Fisher Ties His Own State Record With HUGE Catfish

This must have been crazy to reel in. Jake Robinson of Shakopee was recently fishing in the Minnesota River near Savage when he caught a real whopper. Check this out:

That’s a 49-inch-long flathead catfish with a girth of 33.5 inches that was caught using a 100-ound test line. Wow. According to the Minnesota DNR, Jake ended up tying his own catch and release record with this monster.

So how does one set an official record? I reached out to the DNR, and they got back to me with this:

We’ve had a rash of application with multiple species in both the weighted and catch & release divisions.  12 inquires in the last 5 weeks with 6 verified new state records (golden redhorse at 4 lbs. 7 oz., a shortnose gar at 5 lbs. 4 oz., two 70” lake sturgeons and two 49”  flathead catfish, . Another flathead was caught on the same day a hundred miles up the Minnesota, but he was fishing alone (you have to have a witness for the catch & release record)…..so Jake tied his own record.

Some of the reason for not being able to verify the other 7 inquiries are:

• No witness
• No complete photo of a catch & released fish with a ruler (just the head and tail were photo’d)
• Fish was fought by two anglers (must be just one, but assistance can be used when landing the fish)
• Miss identified species

o   Rock bass was actually a smallie

o   A quillback carpsucker was actually a smallmouth buffalo

o   Pumpkinseed was actually a bluegill

 So good photos with a ruler and a witness are crucial for the catch and release record.

There ya go. If you want to set a record like Jake, make sure you bring a fishing buddy (and a ruler - probably a big one) with you.

Source: Pioneer Press