Lake Norman Monster Caught!!!???
RALEIGH, N.C. (June 30, 1994) – Joel Lineberger
of Long Island, N.C., broke the state record for
blue catfish when he hauled in an 85-pound monster
from Lake Norman on June 19. The new record holder
measured 51.25 inches in length and 35.5 inches
in girth. Lineberger enticed the blue catfish
to strike a white perch fished on a bottom rig
and hauled it in with a Penn baitcasting reel
mounted on a 7-foot Shakespeare Ugly Stick.
 The
N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission on June 24
confirmed Lineberger's blue catfish as a new state
record, besting by two pounds the previous record
blue catfish reeled in by Concord angler Andy
Richmond from Badin Lake in May 2003. The largest
blue catfish on record weighed 116.12 pounds and
was caught in the Mississippi River in Arkansas,
according to the International Game Fish Association.
Lineberger didn't have to travel far to
catch his state record blue catfish. Fishing with
his brother Ronnie above the N.C. 150 bridge,
Lineberger said he and his brother were within
sight of his lakeside house when the big blue
cat struck.
The record fish was certified by fisheries biologist
Bob Brown, who has seen his share of large blue
cats while working on Lake Norman.
"I've seen 25-pounders in gill nets when
we were helping a graduate student do research
on Norman," Brown said. "I knew there
were some blue catfish at least that big in the
lake, but that fish that Mr. Lineberger caught
is the biggest blue cat that I've ever seen."
To qualify for a state record, an angler must
have caught the fish on a hook and line, must
have the fish weighed on a certified scale witnessed
by one observer, have the fish positively identified
by a qualified expert from the Wildlife Commission
and submit an application with a full, side-view
photo of the fish.
|
