MONROE COUNTY, Mich. – An angler recently caught a new state-record fish while bowfishing in Monroe County, officials said.
Codie Carlson, an angler from Newport, was bowfishing in Plum Creek early in the morning on Sunday, June 29, when he caught a flathead catfish that weighed 64.46 pounds and measured 45 inches, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
This beats the previous state record that was set in 2022 by Lloyd Tanner, of Hobart, Indiana. That flathead catfish, which was caught on the St. Joseph River in Berrien County, weighed 53.35 pounds and measured 43 inches.
“I thought I was about to shoot a channel catfish for dinner,” said Carlson. “Turns out, I guess we do have flathead catfish in these waters.”
While bowfishing recently in Monroe County, Codie Carlson of Newport, Michigan, caught a new state-record flathead catfish. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources)
Carlson’s new state-record fish was verified by John Buszkiewicz, a DNR fisheries biologist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Lake Erie Fisheries Management Unit. Buszkiewicz said he and his team might have caught this same fish during a survey in Plum Creek in 2020.
What to know about state record fish
In Michigan, state-record fish are only recognized by weight, according to the DNR.
To qualify, a fish must:
Exceed the current state-record weight
Be weighed on a certified commercial scale
Be verified by a DNR fisheries biologist
To view the full list of state record fish in Michigan, visit here.
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