A new Wyoming state record channel catfish is in the books as a lucky Rock Springs angler caught a beast while fishing for carp.
It's looking to be a banner year for state record breaking catfish in the country. First we had the channel cat record obliterated in New York by Eric Scordo, then in Maryland Jacob Vosburgh broke the white catfish state record. Now there's a new Wyoming state record catfish caught by Christian Cosby.
Cosby and a buddy, Brandon Chadwick, were fishing for carp on Wyoming's Flaming Gorge Reservoir near Anvil Draw, on June 24, when he hooked what he initially thought was a carp.
"I thought maybe it was a carp," said Cosby. "I pulled it as close as I could get it to the shore in the shallow water. Then I jumped in the water, stuck my hand in his mouth and pulled it onto the shore. I was afraid he was going to jump off the line."
"I yelled, 'Holy cow it's a catfish!'" he exclaimed in retelling the tale.
Cosby was fishing with sucker chunks on six pound test line when he hooked the beast.
"We also took the fish to Staples to get weighed-in and we got a lot of funny looks," Cosby said. "They made us take the fish outside after about five minutes. They said it was making the store smell. We felt like real hillbillies. Afterwards, I took the catfish home because I plan to eat it!"
Cosby's channel catfish weighed in at 28.52 pounds and measured 39 inches long with a 23.25 inch girth.
It beat the previous state record fish weighing 27.99 pounds, 38 inches long, with a 26 inch girth, caught in 2005 by another Rock Springs angler, Dan Ackerman. Ackerman's fish was also caught in Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
"He was full of crayfish and what looked like eggs or bugs," Cosby said. "He was in only 18 inches of water; maybe up eating carp eggs, or chillin' in the warm water because it was nice, warm water in that shallow cove. It was right in the middle of the day; about 1:00. I have fished a lot in Alabama where I lived and I've fished the Gorge for big lake trout and kokanee salmon, but never for catfish."
"I feel like I must be the luckiest person."
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