Date: 10-24-2018

Man hauls in state-record blue catfish

Glynn Grogan had caught big fish before, reeling in 90-pounders twice and several 80-pounders.

When he felt a tug on his line Saturday at the Walter Hays Memorial Tournament on the Ohio River, Grogan, 61, knew the blue catfish on his line was abnormally big.

“I knew when he was on the line, when he started pulling that hard, I knew he was going to be the biggest fish I’d probably ever had,” said Grogan, an Arlington taxidermist.

After struggling with the fish for about 10 minutes, he hauled in a 106.9-pound fish, breaking a state record that had stood for nearly 20 years.

“I’ve never had a fish pull that hard,” he said.

Officials with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources said the previous record blue catfish in the state weighed in at 104 pounds and was caught by an Owensboro resident in 1999.

“That’s a very rare fish,” Assistant Director of Fisheries Jeff Ross said. “It’s a once in a lifetime catch.”

After Grogan’s catch was certified Sunday, he released the fish back into the river.

“If he’s lived that long, he deserves to go loose,” he said, estimating the fish could have been at least 25 years old.

For Grogan, the day was bittersweet.

His longtime fishing partner, Walter Hays, for whom the tournament was named, died earlier this year at the age of 80.

“Wasn’t a finer fellow in this world,” Grogan said.

This year’s tournament was the first in Hays’ name, and it took the place of Carlisle Fest, which wasn’t held this year. The tournament was held on the Ohio River at the Wickliffe Waterfront Boat Ramp.

Grogan had fished all of his life, but never with a rod and reel, until Hays came along.

Once Hays showed him the basics, Grogan was hooked.

Hays, he said, would have been proud of his catch.

“We always joked we were one bite away from the state record.”

Grogan attributed his catch to “a lot of years of knowledge and hard work. A whole lot of luck, too.”

The technicalities of landing such a whopper include choosing just the right line, setting the drag perfectly and using the right bait, he said.

When they pulled the fish into the boat, he was thinking about the record, considering the cat maxed out his 100-pound scales.

“I was nervous at first. I knew it was over 100,” he said.

Nationally, Virginia lays claim to the biggest blue cat on record, with a 143-pound fish on the books.

Grogan said he hasn’t given up on breaking that record.

“Maybe when this one grows up a little more I’ll catch him again.”

By Dave Thompson
The Paducah Sun