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| A Jetersville man caught a 95.11-pound blue catfish on the James River on June 15, 2006. Ron Southwick, assistant director of fisheries for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, certified the weight on scales at Hopewell Marina yesterday morning. The fish, which measured 54½ inches in length, was released. Archie Gold, a veteran catfish angler, caught the blue cat using cut shad at about 10 p.m. Saturday, Southwick said. Details about the precise location were unavailable. |
| Blue Catfish Weight: 95.11 lbs.. Length: 54.5 inches Girth: 48.5 inches Angler: Archie Gold Caught at: James River Bait/Lure: Method: Record Date: June 15, 2006 |
| Previous Blue Catfish Weight: 92.28 lbs.. Angler: William Zost of Roxboro, NC Caught at: Bluestone Creek @ Kerr Lake Bait/Lure: 40-pound test Berkley Big Cat line on an Ambassadeur 5500 reel Method: Record Date: June 29, 2004 |
| RECORD CATFISH FROM KERR LAKE (Buggs Island) 92.28-pound Blue When an angler catches a state record fish, we outdoor writers frequently say so-and-so "broke" the record. This time, maybe we should use the word "demolished" the record. Early reports say that’s exactly what William Zost of Roxboro, N.C., did this week when he landed a 92.28-pound blue catfish. No, this isn’t another in a long line of jumbo-size James River cats. Zoft was reported to be fishing near the mouth of Bluestone Creek at Kerr Lake when he hooked the fish. It took him 20 minutes to boat it. The fish was weighed on his certified scales (at Weston’s Grocery in Red Oak, Va.) and witnessed by the appropriate Game Department personnel. The fish was a pot-bellied female with an empty, post-spawn stomach. She might have gone 100 pounds or more a few weeks earlier when full of eggs. Zost was said to be using 40-pound test Berkley Big Cat line on an Ambassadeur 5500 reel. Huge catfish have been a common catch at 50,000-acre Kerr, along the Virginia-North Carolina border, but fish from the James River have dominated the record book —until now. The current record is 75.4-pound James River fish landed April 30 by Vernon McCann of Chesapeake. |
| 2nd Previous Blue Catfish Weight: 71 lbs.-12 oz. Angler: Hugh L. Self Jr. Caught at: James River Bait/Lure: Method: Record Date: November 19, 1999 |
| Flathead Catfish Weight: 66 lbs.-4 oz. Angler: Mike Willems Caught at: Occaquan Reservoir Bait/Lure: Method: Record Date: May 6, 1994 |
| Previous Channel Catfish Weight: 31 lbs.-8 oz. Angler: Sue Stanley Caught at: Rappahannock River Bait/Lure: Method: Record Date: October 2, 1992 |
| White Catfish Weight: 7 lbs.-6 oz. Angler: Thomas Elkins Caught at: Western Br. Reservoir Bait/Lure: Method: Record Date: March 24, 1992 |
| Bulhead Catfish Weight: Angler: Caught at: Bait/Lure: Method: Record Date: |
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