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Keith McCord Reporting We have a fish story for you, a really BIG fish story, one that should make anyone who spends time with a line in the water a bit envious.
Elroy Colledge tells us, "So I saw him flappin', so I knew he was a pretty good-sized one."
Last Thursday he caught a 28.1-pound, 38-inch long channel catfish! He's had it in the freezer since. Colledge was fishing in Utah Lake and when the fish hit the line, he thought it was something smaller, but when he reeled it next to the boat, "The minute he saw me, he just went bizzzz, he just took off and I mean, he went a long ways, right over into the reeds."
It took about 30 minutes to finally get the huge catfish into his boat, fighting him all the way.
Channel catfish are plentiful throughout the country, and people catch big ones all the time. They can live up to 15 years, and to put it nicely, they're not all that good-looking! The one Elroy Colledge caught certainly fits into that category.
While huge, it's not a record catch. The biggest channel catfish caught in Utah is 32 pounds eight ounces, taken from Utah Lake back in 1978.
So, what kind of bait did Elroy use? "I caught him with a chicken heart! We've been using chicken hearts and hot dogs," Colledge said.
It was a great fishing day for Elroy Colledge. He brought in a nine-pounder before landing the big one! And yes, Elroy will have the big catfish mounted!
