Long-Standing Blue Catfish State Record Falls (South Dakota)

[rundrave]

Article from the SD GFP site:

Quote:

PIERRE, S.D. - The second-longest state fish record in South Dakota, a blue catfish caught by Edward Elliot in 1959, is a thing of the past.

On July 21, 2012, Steve Lemmon from Elk Point grabbed his own place in the record books by landing a 99-pound, 4-ounce blue catfish from the Big Sioux River, edging out the previous record by 2 pounds, 4 ounces.

With the aid of only a rod, reel and a creek chub for bait, Lemmon managed to wrangle in the trophy fish from his fishing hole in Union County.

His fish stacks up well with those from nearby states. The Nebraska state record blue catfish weighed in at 100 pounds, 8 ounces while neighboring Iowa currently boasts a state record blue catfish of 101 pounds. Kansas, a state known for having some large catfish, has a slightly smaller state-record blue cat weighing it at 94 pounds even.

State fishing records for South Dakota can be viewed at http://gfp.sd.gov/fishing-boating/state-fish-records-list.aspx

If you believe you have caught a qualifying fish, the state record fish application and guidelines can be found at the same HSOforum.

Article from the Sioux City Journal:

Quote:

When Corky Lemon's usual fishing partner politely declined to fish the final Big Sioux Catfish League event, Corky asked Terry Matheny, Sioux City, to fill in.

When Matheny launched his boat at the Sioux City boat launch and headed up the Big Sioux with Lemon, of Elk Point, neither realized this was going to be the fishing trip of a lifetime.

A few hours later, after fishing two holes somewhere around the west entrance of Stone Park, it is rumored, Matheny had put a 71-pound blue catfish into the boat and Lemon had boated a possible South Dakota State Record 99.25-pounder. They also had a 35-pound blue and a 5-plus channel cat.

"That fish just about pulled me out of the boat," Lemon said. "I've never had a fish pull that hard in all my life."

That was the evening of July 21. The big fish was weighed on a certified scale and an application was made to the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks to certify the fish as a new state record.

The big fish was released at the Sioux City boat ramp.

If the record comes about, a longstanding mark will be eclipsed. It was Sept. 16, 1969, when Edward B. Elliot of Vermillion, S.D., caught a 97-pounder from the Missouri River.

Going into the final league event, Lemon and his partner Brad Rowe, Dakota City, were some 40 pounds behind league leader Darrell Carter of Elk Point.

"I told Corky I'd take him to a big-fish spot, but if he won the league, I'd want a share of the winnings," Matheny smiled.

The league, sponsored by the Westfied Bar and Grill, was cut a couple of weeks short because of low water conditions on the Big Sioux.

[rundrave]

bummer I just realized this was a repost in the thread below this.

[aanderud]

Nice recap on that fish. I mentioned it in about the only other "blue" cat thread we have going, but it was sorta buried a few pages in. This one deserves its own post -- I mean, it IS a state record!

There was also a Kansas record caught like 3-4 days ago, 102 lbs -- which beat the old record by like 8 lbs. That fish was ALSO released.

I love seeing these record-breaking fish released. Wonder if they tagged it so they will know if the same fish breaks his own record multiple times. Seems like it would have been a good idea.

[Scott K]

It sure would be nice if MN cahanges their procedure for a state record. I know I wouldnt bother even calling, being the fish would have to die.