Man catches record-breaking flathead catfish

[KS Toronado]

MCCURTAIN COUNTY —Bradly Courtright caught a 95 pound flathead catfish in Pine Creek Reservoir on a trotline, according to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservataion.

The catch is the largest flathead ever caught in Pine Creek. This fish is almost 20 pounds larger than the rod and reel record but 11 pounds short of the unrestricted division record - which was caught on a trotline in 1977 in Wister Reservoir.

Pine Creek Lake is a lake in McCurtain County and Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, USA. It is 8 miles north of Valliant, Oklahoma. It is located east of Rattan and north of Sobol. The lake, which was begun in 1963 and became operational built in 1969, impounds the waters of Little River, Pine Creek, and Turkey Creek, according to the ODWC.



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[marble falls]

1. I have such mixed feelings about this. I hope it gets eaten.

[duncang]

2. Not sure if it should.

Most links on the main fish consumption page tell you to eat them. It also sounds like they don’t test rivers or tributaries. As to flathead cats from Pine Creek Lake it advises against eating any flathead above 28 inches for the sensitive population - children under 15 and women of child bearing age. For general population it says 2 meals per month. Seems their main concern is mercury poisoning from reading other pages.

[marble falls]

5. It should have been released after weighing and a photo. Eating was my secondary consideration. Killing for ...

... thrill or trophy is unthinkable.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

3. I saw an albino one

That big in lake Cuyuga. Lake Cuyuga has crystal clear water where I was staying at so you could watch the fish steal your bait without checking. I so wanted to catch that catfish. I just watched him slow swim with awe.Got some decent fish there and we had fried fish and it was so good. But I would have died if I caught that monster. He looked so cool .Would have had him mounted on a white background and had a neighborhood fish fry.

[Emile]

4. I have two flatheads in my pond. One was caught,

weighed and released last summer that weighed 51 pounds. The other one is a little smaller but is over 40 pounds. I know my two fish are both over 25 years old. It takes a lifetime for a flathead to grow this size. It sickens me to see people throw a fish like this into the back of a pickup and drive around showing it off.

[Fla Dem]

6. I agree, trophy hunting/fishing is nothing but salve to the ego and cruelty to the creature.

[bif]

7. He should have let it go.

Shameful.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Shazzam!

That's a big catfish.
Lots of catfish caught in the rivers around here, but I've never heard of any over 40#, and just that one.
It's stuffed & mounted at a fish restaurant on the river about 12 miles from mere.
This one is 2¼ times the size!