An Idaho angler has shattered the state catch-and-release length record for channel catfish.
Paul Newman landed the 42.5-inch catfish while fishing for sturgeon July 20 at C.J. Strike Reservoir. The previous length record was 33 inches, for a catfish caught at Lake Lowell in 2020.
According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Newman’s catfish tipped his digital scale at 37 pounds before he turned it loose. Had the fish been weighed on a certified scale it would have shattered the existing weight record of 32.9 pounds.
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“While this fish will earn a Catch-and-Release Record, the fish was easily large enough to beat the current 32.9-pound Certified Weight Record set only a few weeks ago by Cody Kastner, also from C.J. Strike Reservoir,” the IDFG stated.
C.J. Strike Reservoir spans 7,500 acres on the Snake and Bruneau rivers in southwestern Idaho.
–Image showing Paul Newman with his record catfish is courtesy of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
