Angler Breaks Local Record With 70 Lb Catfish After Nearly Hour-Long Battle

An angler got the surprise of his life while fishing for crappie at Clarks Hill Lake, Georgia on March 4. Instead of a 6-pound crappie, Michael Dollar, 34, reeled in a record-breaking flathead catfish, weighing in at 70 pounds. In 2010, a previous flathead catfish record was set for Clarks Hill, weighing in at 64 pounds, according to Georgia Outdoor News. "When the fish bit, I initially thought I was hung up because the rod was bowed over so far," Dollar told Newsweek. "When I got the rod out of the holder, my first thought was to cut the line. That's when I saw my cork start moving away from the bank. I knew then that I had a big fish." After nearly an hour of fighting, Dollar and his friend finally made their catch. "I guess I finally tired the fish out and he sort of just floated to the top," Dollar said. "That's when my buddy, Ken O'Barr, swooped the net and did the best he could to get the whole fish in the net. It took both of us grabbing hold of the net to get the fish inside the boat. I was elated when the fish was finally laying on the floor of my boat."

Dollar, from Raysville, Georgia, said that he has been fishing for as long as he can remember. "I enjoy fishing to enjoy the great outdoors, Mother Nature, camaraderie, and mostly because I love to eat them," he said. Dollar shared photos from the event in a post on Facebook on March 5, captioned, "I still can't believe this happened yesterday." Many users were quick to congratulate him on his catch. "Awesome job bro," said one user. "That thing is huge," said another. Not all of his comments have been positive, though. Dollar said that he has received a fair amount of criticism from people saying he should have released the fish after catching it. But, according to Dollar, these criticisms are unfounded. "Flatheads are an invasive species and will take over a body of water without fishermen like me," he said. "They feed off of smaller fish like crappie, bream, shell cracker and bass. Without management of these beasts, there eventually would be no smaller fish."

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According to the U.S. Geological Survey, flathead catfish were first observed in Georgia in 1950, and studies have shown a negative correlation between flathead fish populations and native species in several lakes and rivers across the state. Dollar also said that, although it was unusual to catch such a big fish with a rod and reel, the species themselves are not particularly rare. "70-lb flathead catfish aren't a rarity. They're just rare to be caught using a rod and reel, especially using 6-lb test fishing line," he said.