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Pastimes : 100 Acre Wood -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alan Smithee who wrote (3242)	1/22/2004 9:34:49 AM
From: Lost1	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 3287

World record 121 1/2-pound catfish caught on banks of Lake Texoma. By Mike Leggett AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, January 22, 2004 It's the classic big fish story: Fisherman dreams of monster catfish. Fisherman slaves over hot spinning rod for 10 anonymous years. World yawns. Fisherman gets lucky, catches monster catfish. World goes crazy. Welcome to the mixed-up world of Cody Mullennix, a North Texas angler who last Friday managed to corral a 121 1/2-pound record blue catfish from Lake Texoma and change his life at the same time. That's record as in lake, state, world and line class. "This is the fish I've been looking for for 10 years," Mullennix said. "I knew it was a big fish, but I didn't know it was going to be all this. It's crazy. I've been on the phone since Friday morning." All the world loves a big fish tale, and it's certainly loving this one, especially since Mullennix, 27, was fishing not from a boat but simply from a spot on the lake's bank when he landed the giant. "There's been more publicity and interest in this than anything that's happened here in the last few years," said Phil Durocher, chief of inland fisheries at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "It's a big, big catfish, the biggest fish at the (Texas Freshwater) Fisheries Center." Durocher said the fish, which Mullennix donated alive to the state, would be put on display in the outdoor reservoir display at the fisheries center in Athens, which is about 75 miles east of Dallas. "We wanted to put it in the aquarium inside," he said, "but those big blues tend to eat everything in there. We can't have that." Mullennix was just minding his own business last week, fishing alone at one of his favorite spots. "I live just 15 minutes from the lake, and I've been fishing there for 10 years, trying to catch those big catfish," Mullennix said. "I had landed a 56-pounder earlier that morning. After this fish hit, it came up and rolled about 70 yards out, and I knew it was going to be big." With 450 yards of 20-pound line on his big spinning reel, Mullennix said, he played the fish into shallow water. Then he waded out to hold it while calling for help on his cell phone. One friend came with a scale that wouldn't weigh the fish. "I knew it was big before we weighed it, but when the 100-pound scale bottomed out, I knew it was really big," Mullennix said. Mullennix and friends finally got the fish out of the lake, then turned it over to Texas Parks and Wildlife fisheries experts. It was transferred to the fisheries center, where it's reportedly doing just fine. Once the fish has been monitored for infection or any stress because of being caught and moved, it will be put on display. A veterinarian will examine the fish tonight to make certain that it hasn't ingested any foreign objects that could have increased its weight, which exceeds all other record weights for blue catfish. The current world record of 111 pounds is in jeopardy, as is the all-tackle record 116.75 pounds, caught in the Mississippi River in 2001. Both could fall once Mullennix's fish is certified. The record catfish will be put on display at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, which has 300,000 gallons of aquariums and features a daily dive show and on-site fishing. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Entrance fees are $5.50 for adults, $4.50 for senior citizens and $3.50 for children. For more information, visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us or call the center at (903) 676-2277.