James River Cats
A new state record blue catfish—102 pounds, 4 ounces—caught on the James 5/20/09 around 12:45 PM. by Tim Wilson (right) and Danny Ayers. The new state record measured 52-3/4 inches in length with a girth of 41-1/2 inches, and was caught with cut shad and 30-pound test line. DGIF Biologist Bob Greenlee was convinced the blue was full of eggs, a pre-spawn female.
The new state record blue catfish had been caught from the James River and weighed in at Green Top Sporting Goods. The previous record, set by Archie Gold back in July of 2006 was 95 pounds, 11 ounces. Wilson, 51, and cousin Danny Ayers caught the biggest blue cat in Virginia history and also it's the largest freshwater fish out of Virginia waters. The world record 124-pound blue catfish was caught on the Mississippi River in May 2005.
Bob Greenlee, a Department of Game and Inland District Fisheries biologist, who researches catfish, was there to oversee the certification process for the new state record blue catfish at Green Top Sporting Goods. There’s a procedure that has to be followed to officially certify any state record according to Greenlee, but there’s no reason to think this catch won’t qualify.
**Note**
The State Record Fish Committee has certified the
new state record fish:
Click here for
the VDIGF Info:
The 102 pound, 4 ounce monster cat was caught somewhere between Dutch Gap and
Hopewell on the James River by two Natural Bridge Station residents. Tim Wilson a seasoned veteran angler has been fishing the lower James for the past 20 years.
Greenlee said the two anglers wanted to share the record and neither would say who actually pulled it in. Greenlee released the fish alive back into the James near the Deep Bottom boat landing.
Click
here for a more detailed story
of the catch.....
Click
here for an audio interview with Tim
Wilson from WRVA
Click
here for Field & Stream's article
with exclusive photos:
Can
The James Win The Cat Fight??
A
good question now that a
102 lb cat is in the bag.....click on
the link above!
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