On Independence Day, 2020, a fisherman from St Louis, Missouri named Wade Kaminski reeled in a monster 112-pound catfish in the Mississippi River.
And he released it downstream! https://t.co/RpOA3tzdSH
— Shan Muskopf (@musko101) July 6, 2020
Wade was boating on the river with a friend when he hooked into something unmovable in the water. He tried to reel in but it felt like the line was stuck on a rock or an old log. After tugging on the pole for a while, the lined moved and he immediately realized he had something big on his hook.
“I initially thought I got into a snag,” Wade said, according to KSDK. “I told my friend who was with me, ‘I’m either snagged or I’ve got a monster.’ It was the biggest and baddest fight I’ve ever been involved with.”
Once he got the blue catfish inside the boat, he measured its length and weight and the fish was an impressive five-foot-long and weighed 112-pounds. He quickly took a picture with it, smiling from ear to ear, and then released it back into the water to live another day.
Wade almost beat the Missouri Fishing Records for the largest catfish a fisherman has ever caught, which right now goes to a 130-pound blue catfish reeled in by Greg Bernal in 2010.
Overall, Wade was happy to catch the fish. He said on Instagram, “This is the fish I’ve been chasing for years and I’m proud to call her my new personal best!”