Caught April 7, 2022


Eugene Cronley's Mississippi state record blue catfish weighed 131 pounds with a 41-inch girth and measured 56.6 inches in length.


Eugene Cronley of Brandon caught a new state record blue catfish weighing 131 pounds. Caught using 30-pound test line, it may also be a line class world record.

Damn noodlers.

That fish was removed from the river and hung up next to his barn to die. Damn shame to kill a world class fish like that in my opinion.

On a positive note, my buddy Jarrell Gomez caught a lake record Channel Cat 2 nights ago and when he called inland fisheries to come certify the fish they told him to put it on ice and they would be there in 2 days. Jarrell told them no way he was killing a record sized fish and returned it to the lake to fight another day. Much respect to my boy Jarrell.

lol. I donated to your last event. you're welcome.

Thanks. I appreciate the $10 and It went to a great cause. The kids at the event enjoyed all the prizes. Big fish conservation and responsible harvest was a big part of my Jr Angler event and we turned loose everything over 5 lbs. Guys that contradict posts about big fish conservation I am naturally going to be at odds with. You made a point to say I am singling out Noodlers which is just not true. My position is clear and has been clear on big fish conservation regardless of which means guys choose to catch fish. I believe noodeling harms the big fishes reproductive cycle and should be banned. I also disagree with rod and reel guys keeping big fish same as juggers, trotliners, or noodlers. Im going to continue to do my thing which is catch a boat load of fish every week and help educate the next generation of anglers that come on my boat in the importance of big fish conservation and responsible harvest so that my son and kids like him can experience the joy of trophy Catfishing.

Question, are you a hunter? If so, if you had the chance to harvest a state/world class Elk or deer, or would you let it walk in order to keep the genetics in the gene pool? Same for a 5lb crappie, would you release it to fight another day, or is this only applicable to catfish? I agree that we must be diligent in protecting all game animals and fish so that future generations have the same opportunity as we have to enjoy catching/harvesting them. But I see no reason to disparage someone for wanting to keep anything they catch/harvest as long as they are taken in a legal and ethical manner.

Been hunting my whole life. Have let lots of big deer walk at both my Ranch in Jacksboro as well as the family Ranch in New Mexico. The last 5 yrs I’ve shot nothing but cull bucks to try and improve the genetics at the ranch and it has definitely improved the gene pool. We have turned loose lots of record size fish of a variety of species from longnose gar, shortnose gar, spotted Gar, Carp, Buffalo, Crappie, Channel Cats, and Flatheads. We didn’t have a certified scale at the time so we returned them all to the lake. We break a few records every year on my boat and so do most of my angling buddies. I now have a certified scale so we can get the records and return the fish safely to the lake. I certainly wouldn’t kill a fish to get a record. There were 2 Jr Lake Records broken at my Jr Angler event April 3rd and both fish were weighed on my certified scale and safely returned to the lake. When I see something special it isn’t in my nature to want to kill it. Quite the opposite.

I never killed any deer for horns, or some kind of record. I hunt for meat, bucks that were culls, and does. And we had some studs walking around at the last lease I was on. Hell, I even caught a water body record Readear Sunfish, kept him alive till I could hit the certified scales, and returned him to the river to make more.

Total respect Jarrell Gomez!! In my mind you'll always own that lake record brother!!

It is a shame that fish didn't get to live another year and make another anglers dream come true and possibly become a new world record. That being said, I can't come down too hard on the guy. I doubt there's any one of us on here that would be able to get a fish like that to a certified scale without it dying. I know very few guys that have a livewell that could house that brute to get it weighed. We should all take advice from El Gato and get a certified scale to keep on the boat. If I ever catch one like that it's definitely going back in the water. There's no way it would be any good for eating. As a hunter, I do my best to only harvest mature bucks but I'm not gonna let a 5 year old 180 class buck walk. I'm also not going to throw the meat away. That fish is definitely in it's final season or two and, if it's a female, it's done a lifetime of contributing to the gene pool for that river. This could have been the only big fish this guy has ever kept. I don't know, it's a "catch 22". If the guy caught it at 2 in the morning and didn't have any way of weighing it on certified scales, then I doubt it would've survived until it could be weighed anyway. Congrats to him for doing what very few of us will ever do.

Well said El Gato!

Nice fish for sure. Seems like it would be well past breeding age, sort of like an old buck past his prime. Might as well remove it and let the smaller fish have the forage that big one was eating. Wonder what he was using for bait?

A link with more information on the fish.

https://www.alloutdoor.com/2022/04/14/131lb-blue-catfish-breaks-state-record/