Reeling in a fat cat
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It won’t win a beauty contest, but the blue catfish an Illinois angler wrestled from the Mississippi River on May 21 appears to be a new world record. The brute pulled 33-year-old Tim Pruitt of Bethalto, his wife, a friend and their boat for 40 minutes before Pruitt landed it.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources confirmed that the fish weighed 124 pounds, spanned nearly 5 feet and had a girth of 44 inches. The International Game Fish Assn. must confirm the details before certifying the fish as a new record.
“It’s quite a creature. It’s caused a lot of excitement,” says Mike Conlin, director of the fisheries program for Illinois.
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