CT Catfish Record Rescinded - The Fisherman

CT Catfish Record Rescinded

catfishWe reported a month or so ago, that on August 20th of this year a white catfish weighing 21.3 pounds was caught in Connecticut’s Coventry Lake. This fish would have obliterated the standing state record of 12.75 pounds and was in line to stand as the potential world record. Citing the ambiguity of the photographic and video evidence and raising concerns that the fish may have been misidentified, state officials were forced to rescind the record because DEEP was not able to inspect the fish.

You would think, when faced with losing a record, the angler would furnish the proof post haste, but in this unique case, the evidence has been eaten. Perhaps breaded and fried or encased in the creole classic Po’ Boy sandwich, for one angler in Connecticut, the tangy crunch of victory left behind the acrid aftertaste of missed opportunity.

In a statement posted on DEEP’s social media, the state detailed its reasons for electing to pass on awarding record status to the monster catfish. “Due to questions raised both internally at DEEP and by outside sources, DEEP is recalling its initial declaration of a new state record white catfish caught in Coventry Lake on August 20th. Without the ability to examine the actual fish, identification is left to still images and videos, which have proven to be ambiguous and inconclusive to definitively identify the species of catfish in this case. To maintain the integrity of the state record dataset, we are reversing the initial announcement that this 21.3-pound fish was the new state record White Catfish. We apologize for this error. Questions or comments can be directed to Mike.beauchene@ct.gov.”

What can we learn from this? For starters, if you believe you have landed a record-setting fish of any species, document everything with photos and videos, make sure to get the fish officially weighed by a third party, take length and girth measurements and document them on video… and for heaven’s sake, don’t eat the fish!

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