The State Record Fish Committee of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) has confirmed that a 143-pound blue catfish is a new state record.
The state record blue catfish was caught by Richard Nicholas “Nick” Anderson in John H. Kerr Reservoir (Buggs Island Lake) on Saturday, June 18.
The committee members reviewed the application, verified the location of the catch as well as the species, weight, length, and girth of the fish. A VDGIF Conservation Police Officer and Fisheries Biologist were present at the weigh-in.
At 143 pounds and 57 inches in length with a girth of 43.5 inches the new state record blue catfish smashes the previous record. The previous state record blue catfish weighed 109 pounds and was caught by Tony Milam in Buggs Island Lake near the confluence of the Dan and Roanoke rivers on March 17, 2011. This is only the third confirmed freshwater fish over 100 pounds caught in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) will handle official certification of the trophy blue catfish as a potential new world record. If certified by the IGFA, the Virginia blue catfish will shatter the previous world record, a 130-pound blue catfish caught in the Missouri River in 2010.
source: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries