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Man Lands Heaviest Fish Ever Caught in Arizona
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April 15, 2013
Man Lands Heaviest Fish Ever Caught in Arizona
By Chad Love
An Arizona man with one of the coolest nicknames (and personalized license plates) around just hauled in the largest fish ever recorded in the state of Arizona. Appropriately enough for a guy nicknamed "Flathead Ed", the fish was a massive 76-pound flathead.
From this story on azcentral.com:
A Surprise man broke a 25-year-old state record Friday, after he reeled in the biggest fish on record during an overnight outing on Bartlett Lake. Eddie Wilcoxson, or “Flathead Ed” as he’s known to friends, was asleep on his boat at about 2 a.m., when a flathead catfish started pulling on his line, Arizona Game and Fish Department said in a news release. Wilcoxson, 56, struggled with the fish for about 35 minutes until he finally pulled it into the boat. Officials verified its weight at 76.52 lbs and length at 53.5 inches.
According to the story, Wilcoxson’s catch set the record for the heaviest recorded fish of any species in state history, beating a 74-pound flathead caught out of the Colorado River in 1988. Wilcoxson told reporters that he sometimes sleeps on the water while fishing for three to four days at a time, even spending one three-week stretch on the water during Thanksgiving. His previous best fish was a 65-pounder. He caught the giant flathead on a two-pound live carp.
Much like big blues, flatheads are becoming a popular target for trophy anglers. What's the biggest flathead you've ever caught?
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Comments (6)
I'm diggin the guys stauche.
Good job Ed! Once again the state record is held by an Arizonan.
awesome fish. Love catfish. Great to see a guide who also sets apart time to fish. Sleeping on a lake for a week while night time catfishin... heaven.
2 pound live carp. ha
Caught a 46.5 pound Flathead Catfish in March of 2009 on Clarks Hill Lake, SC. We were crappie fishing in a drizzling rain and I hooked the Flathead in a tree top. Fortunately the Flathead swam out of the tree rather than further back into it. I was using a 7' spinning rod, with 8 pound test line and a gold crappie hook. We cranked the boat up and followed the fish in order to keep up with it. At first I had no idea what I had on but after 20 minutes we finally worked it close enough to the surface to see that it was a Flathead.
After another 15 minutes of which I fully expected my line to break or the crappie hook to bend out we were able to get half the fish in a net and pull it on board. Since my friend was primarily a striper fisherman he had a large enough scale and we weighted the fish. 46.5 pounds.
Flathead are great eating fish and this one would have provided several quart bags of white filets. But I was not eager to clean a fish that big as I had cleaned a 35 pound Flathead several months prior and it was a chore. So we released it back into the lake after taking a few pictures.
I'm sorry, but all I can see there is the man's righteous mustache. Rock on, facial hare brutha.
Very amazing fish, I know it had to be the best day ever to catch something that awesome. Just wish after the weighing & measuring was done the fish got to go back to his home & grow some more. I'm a fisher woman & love fishing, just something that amazing should be preserved.
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Caught a 46.5 pound Flathead Catfish in March of 2009 on Clarks Hill Lake, SC. We were crappie fishing in a drizzling rain and I hooked the Flathead in a tree top. Fortunately the Flathead swam out of the tree rather than further back into it. I was using a 7' spinning rod, with 8 pound test line and a gold crappie hook. We cranked the boat up and followed the fish in order to keep up with it. At first I had no idea what I had on but after 20 minutes we finally worked it close enough to the surface to see that it was a Flathead.
After another 15 minutes of which I fully expected my line to break or the crappie hook to bend out we were able to get half the fish in a net and pull it on board. Since my friend was primarily a striper fisherman he had a large enough scale and we weighted the fish. 46.5 pounds.
Flathead are great eating fish and this one would have provided several quart bags of white filets. But I was not eager to clean a fish that big as I had cleaned a 35 pound Flathead several months prior and it was a chore. So we released it back into the lake after taking a few pictures.
I'm diggin the guys stauche.
Good job Ed! Once again the state record is held by an Arizonan.
awesome fish. Love catfish. Great to see a guide who also sets apart time to fish. Sleeping on a lake for a week while night time catfishin... heaven.
2 pound live carp. ha
I'm sorry, but all I can see there is the man's righteous mustache. Rock on, facial hare brutha.
Very amazing fish, I know it had to be the best day ever to catch something that awesome. Just wish after the weighing & measuring was done the fish got to go back to his home & grow some more. I'm a fisher woman & love fishing, just something that amazing should be preserved.
Post a Comment