Updated

Updated · Fox News · Sep 6

Tyler Harmon Lands 72.75-Pound Blue Catfish, Setting West Virginia Record on Ohio River

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Sep 6

Tyler Harmon Lands 72.75-Pound Blue Catfish, Setting West Virginia Record on Ohio River

Q: How did a passing barge and a specific fishing rod turn a simple family outing into a record-breaking river monster catch?

A passing barge created the moment, and Harmon’s Hellcat rod helped him finish it. The barge’s wake loosened the boat’s anchor and set the family drifting on the Ohio River, changing the bait’s position near submerged cover. Almost immediately, one of the rods doubled over. Harmon initially thought the line was snagged, but when it began running upriver and stripping drag, he realized a very large fish had taken the bait. The fish turned out to be a 72.75-pound blue catfish, now West Virginia’s new state weight record. Harmon fought it for about 20 minutes on 40-pound-test line, steering it away from brush and the dangling anchor line as it circled the boat. He was using a 7-foot, 6-inch medium-heavy Catch The Fever Hellcat rod with cut sucker meat on a Carolina-style bottom rig, tackle strong enough to absorb the fish’s runs and give him control during the long fight. The rod also mattered beyond performance. Catch The Fever offers a potential $20,000 bonus tied to record fish caught on its Hellcat rods, so the exact setup could make the catch financially significant as well, pending verification. What began as a casual three-generation outing meant to let Harmon’s 4-year-old son catch a small catfish instead became a certified record. The fish measured 48.15 inches long with a 33.5-inch girth, breaking the previous 71-pound state mark. After being kept alive overnight and weighed on a certified scale the next morning, it was released back into the Ohio River.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 6

A casual Ohio River trip near Ravenswood turned into a state record when Tyler Harmon boated a 72.75-pound blue catfish while fishing with his father and 4-year-old son.
The fish hit after a barge wake loosened the boat's anchor, and Harmon spent about 20 minutes fighting it on 40-pound line through submerged brush before his father netted it.
A certified West Virginia fisheries official weighed the catch the next morning at 72.75 pounds, 48.15 inches long and 33.5 inches around, topping the previous 71-pound state record set in May from the same area.
The catch could also bring Harmon a $20,000 rod-promotion payout if approved; after the official measurement, he released the blue catfish alive back into the Ohio River.