NATCHEZ, Miss. — Eugene Cronley has a “big fish” story, only this one didn’t get away.
Cronley set a new state record on April 7, when he reeled in a 131-pound blue catfish from the Mississippi River near Natchez, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks confirmed.
According to WJTV, Cronley said it took 40 minutes to land the enormous catfish.
“He hit the rod and started pulling drag. We had to untie the boat and float down the river,” he told The Clarion-Ledger, adding, “I couldn’t move him. I’d pull on him and take in a foot of line, and he’d pull and take 10 feet. I just sat there like I was hung up.”
Cronley told the newspaper that he’s used to catching 50-pound catfish in the area, and knew this one was different but did not realize just how different until the deed was done.
“We didn’t know until we pulled him up. We knew then we had a monster,” he said, adding, “We could hardly get him in the boat. I was wore out.”
Cronley caught the fish with a rod and reel, using skipjack herring as bait, WJTV reported.
According to the TV station, Cronley’s catch smashed the prior rod and reel record of 95 pounds, caught by Dakota Hinson in 2009.
The fish is also larger than the trophy record blue catfish of 101 pounds caught by the team of Freddie Parker and Brad Smith in 1997, WJTV reported.
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