Georgia angler lands record-shattering blue catfish after epic battle

A Georgia angler has obliterated the Jackson Lake record for blue catfish with the catch of a 71.6-pound behemoth that was almost too large for the net.

Walter Dorough, of Hillsboro, was fishing with multiple lines on the night of June 28 when the catfish took a slab of cut bluegill and began to run.

“It started doing circles around my 18-foot Tracker boat, and I had to work hard to keep the fish from tangling in my other lines,” Dorough, 39, told Wired2Fish. “There wasn’t much I could do. 

“The fish even wrapped my fishing line around my boat anchor rope and I thought it would break off. But somehow, I got it out from around the rope and kept fighting the fish.”

Dorough, who was using 30-pound-test line and a spinning outfit, told Georgia Outdoor News that he had been practicing for an upcoming tournament when the enormous catfish struck.

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“I was fishing by myself and never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d catch a fish like this,” he said. “Our next tournament is on Jackson [July 26], and I was actually just trying to find some new spots.”

The previous blue catfish record for Jackson Lake, set in October 2020, weighed 46 pounds, 7 ounces. 

Dorough added: “She put up the best fight I’ve ever had. My biggest previous was 69 pounds in Alabama, and that fish didn’t put up a fight… just kind of came up like a log, which a lot of the really big ones do. Not this fish. This one gave me a run for my money. You should have seen me trying to net it, only the head would fit.”

The accompanying YouTube footage shows Dorough battling and netting the “monstrous blue,” which was released after being weighed on a digital scale.

It stands to reason that Dorough will be fishing the same area during the July 26 tournament. 

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Georgia angler lands record-shattering blue catfish after epic battle