Paul Newman with his new Catch-and-Release State Record channel catfish.
Congratulations to Paul Newman of Fruitland on setting a new Catch-and-Release State Record for channel catfish. Newman set out on C.J. Strike Reservoir on July 20 hoping to catch a sturgeon. While he didn't land any sturgeon that day, he did take home a new state record catfish! At 42.5 inches long, Newman's lunker easily swam past the existing record of 33 inches set by Reed Monson at Lake Lowell back in 2020.
Before releasing the huge catfish back into the reservoir, Paul used a digital scale to weigh the fish at 37 lbs. While this fish will earn a Catch-and-Release Record, the fish was easily large enough to beat the current 32.9-pound Certified Weight Record set only a few weeks ago by Cody Kastner, also from C.J. Strike Reservoir!
This has been a good summer for record catfish. Also in July, Jared Holt of Homedale set a Catch-and-Release record for flathead catfish.
Learn more about other record fish and how to apply on the State Record Fish page.