Holy Catfish - New State Record Caught Near Lewiston

Twelve-year old Kenny Bob Decker of Kooskia recently caught a 31.05 pound Channel catfish at Mann Lake near Lewiston, making the fish the new state record. The middle school student was fishing from the bank using 30-pound test line and nightcrawlers for bait when he set the record. According to the young angler, the fish made several runs before he reeled it close enough that his friend's father could wade out and grab it. The record fish was 38 inches long with a girth of 23-and-a-half inches. "I didn't think he was that big, but I couldn't hardly get him in," Kenny Bob said. "It was pretty exciting." Mann Lake in Nez Perce County has a history of producing whopper channel cats. In June, retired Idaho State Police colonel Mike Fosbury landed a 23-pound, 35-inch long channel catfish from the same lake. Channel catfish average two to seven pounds with a peak weight of 35 pounds. The International Game Fish Association record is 58 pounds. The previous Idaho State record was a 31-pound fish caught by Lorraine Ravery from the Snake River in 1975.