Angler fights for 35 minutes to reel in ‘monster’ fish. It’s a new Iowa record
A fisherman in Iowa has broken the record for the largest blue catfish caught in the state.
In a hard-fought battle lasting 35 minutes, George Thompson reeled in a 105-pound, 60-inch fish, according to an Oct. 22 Facebook post from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
His “monster” catch broke a 21-year record held by a blue catfish weighing 101 pounds and measuring 53 inches long, according to officials.
“These are some of the biggest fish we have in Iowa, but to reach this size is rare,” officials said in the post. “Most adults you’ll come across weigh 20 to 25 pounds.”
Both fish were from wild populations, not stocked, and were caught in the same stretch of the Missouri River in Pottawattamie County, officials said.
Thompson kept the fish alive in a specialized well with diffused oxygen so it could be transported for certification, according to the post.
After getting it weighed on a certified scale, Thompson brought the fish back to the Missouri River where he released it, officials said.
“God bless ya for letting that old lion go back home,” one person commented.
All fish believed to be record-breaking catches “must be verified” by fisheries officials with the Department of Natural Resources, the department said.
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Angler fights for 35 minutes to reel in ‘monster’ fish. It’s a new Iowa record."
