LAKE WORTH -- There's a new Lake Worth monster in town.
A 72-pound blue catfish shattered the lake's previous 55-pound record when it was caught Monday morning by Tim McKneely, with an assist from Mark Alexander."I knew he was big, just not how big until I got him up and he started rolling," McKneely said.They were using shad for bait on a 65-pound test line.The big fish came in easily but was the devil to land, McKneely said."He bent our net and broke our fish grips," McKneely said.After taking pictures, the 24-year-old friends released the 48-inch-long, 35-inch-girth cat back into the lake in northwest Tarrant County."I like going for the biggest cat I can get, but I'm not going to eat them," McKneely said. "Records are made to be broken. This fish will grow more and someone else will break my record."The record was broken four days shy of 10 years since it was set -- Dec. 23, 2001 -- said Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman Tom Hungerford.The biggest blue catfish on record in Texas weighted 121.5 pounds and was caught in 2004 in Lake Texoma.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
