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Man eats record-breaking fish by accident
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Angler laments loss of catfish recognition
Photo courtesy of Eric Powell
This photo is all that is left of the proof that Eric Powell of Dallas caught what could have been a state record, 38-plus-pound channel catfish in 1997 at Wirth Lake.
Eric Powell caught a giant fish, but he ate it and missed out on getting it into the record books.
HENRY MILLER
Statesman Journal
June 8, 2002
So just how does a state record taste?
"It was great. Some of those steaks were absolutely huge," said a grinning Eric Powell of Dallas.
The heartburn came later. About five years later.
In April, while reading an article about an angler who caught a 26-pound catfish at Walter Wirth Lake in Salem, Powell realized the channel cat he caught and ate in September 1997 was easily a state record.
"I put it on a digital kitchen scale, I could only fit the body on the scale, and it went to 38 pounds, easy," Powell said about draping the 3-plus-foot fish over the counter.
The state record for channel catfish is 36 1/2 pounds, and it has stood since 1980.
One problem, though: You can't claim the record with just a photo.
"Had I have known, I'd be so there," Powell said about applying for the record, then added, shaking his head, "Oh, yeah, had I known."
At the time, he recalled, he was just looking to show off a little.
The huge catfish sucked Powell's chicken liver bait off the bottom of Wirth Lake about 8:55 p.m., near dusk, that September night.
As the light faded, and anglers began packing up and leaving, his one hope was to wrestle the big fish in time for someone to see it, Powell recalled.
"I was just hoping to walk past them holding it up," he lamented.
But he couldn't horse the struggling catfish because he only had 6-pound-test line.
It was after dark, and nearly 9:30, when the huge, gasping catfish was on the bank.
"It was truly frightening," he said about his first closeup look. "This thing had eyes the size of a dog, and its mouth was going womp, womp."
But the last of the anglers had pulled out of the parking lot.
"By that time, the crickets were chirping, not a soul," he said.
Powell's tale of shoulda, coulda, woulda about the state record that got away is actually pretty typical, said Bob Judkins of Portland.
As contest chairman for the Oregon Bass & Panfish Club, Judkins certifies and keeps track of state records for warmwater fish, from catfish and bass to pumpkinseeds (a variety of sunfish), bluegill and crappie.
"I really feel that somewhere out there is a person who has one, and they just eat it," he said about state record fish.
"If you are an average fisherman, and you don't belong to a club . you just don't know about it."
Judkins not only keeps the records, he has set one, and not on purpose.
He was poking around for crappie at Hagg Lake southwest of Portland last Aug. 4, when he tied into what turned out to be the state record brown bullhead, 3 pounds, 7 ounces.
Records for smaller fish - the pumpkinseed benchmark is 7.68 ounces. For Sacramento perch, it's 11.2 ounces - are the most overlooked, he said.
Judkins' advice:
Get the list of state record fish and take it with you.
It is available on Oregon Bass & Panfish Club Web sites or by calling or writing for a copy.
If you suspect a record, don't clean it.
"The best thing you could do is not eat the damn thing," Judkins said.
Get pictures of the fish in profile.
Also measure the length and girth of the fish. While you are writing things down, record the date caught and the location of the catch.
You have 30 days from the date of your catch to apply for certification as a state warmwater record.
Photos are used determine the species.
Witnesses are required for certification: At least one who saw the fish caught, and another to verify the weight on .
A certified scale. To be recognized, any record must be weighed on such a scale.
Any supermarket scale that has been stamped as accurate by weights and measures qualifies.
And don't be embarrassed about taking your fish to the store, Judkins said.
"Actually, they were pretty excited at Safeway about it," he laughed, remembering his bullhead record.
There's no reward for having a state record.
The Bass & Panfish Club gives the record-setter a $25 reward, and a certificate to frame.
But there is something about having those bragging rights, Judkins said.
"It's something to show your great grandkids," he said. "Having a state record is really kind of neat." http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=43170
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Photo courtesy of Eric Powell
This photo is all that is left of the proof that Eric Powell of Dallas caught what could have been a state record, 38-plus-pound channel catfish in 1997 at Wirth Lake.
Eric Powell caught a giant fish, but he ate it and missed out on getting it into the record books.
HENRY MILLER
Statesman Journal
June 8, 2002
So just how does a state record taste?
"It was great. Some of those steaks were absolutely huge," said a grinning Eric Powell of Dallas.
The heartburn came later. About five years later.
In April, while reading an article about an angler who caught a 26-pound catfish at Walter Wirth Lake in Salem, Powell realized the channel cat he caught and ate in September 1997 was easily a state record.
"I put it on a digital kitchen scale, I could only fit the body on the scale, and it went to 38 pounds, easy," Powell said about draping the 3-plus-foot fish over the counter.
The state record for channel catfish is 36 1/2 pounds, and it has stood since 1980.
One problem, though: You can't claim the record with just a photo.
"Had I have known, I'd be so there," Powell said about applying for the record, then added, shaking his head, "Oh, yeah, had I known."
At the time, he recalled, he was just looking to show off a little.
The huge catfish sucked Powell's chicken liver bait off the bottom of Wirth Lake about 8:55 p.m., near dusk, that September night.
As the light faded, and anglers began packing up and leaving, his one hope was to wrestle the big fish in time for someone to see it, Powell recalled.
"I was just hoping to walk past them holding it up," he lamented.
But he couldn't horse the struggling catfish because he only had 6-pound-test line.
It was after dark, and nearly 9:30, when the huge, gasping catfish was on the bank.
"It was truly frightening," he said about his first closeup look. "This thing had eyes the size of a dog, and its mouth was going womp, womp."
But the last of the anglers had pulled out of the parking lot.
"By that time, the crickets were chirping, not a soul," he said.
Powell's tale of shoulda, coulda, woulda about the state record that got away is actually pretty typical, said Bob Judkins of Portland.
As contest chairman for the Oregon Bass & Panfish Club, Judkins certifies and keeps track of state records for warmwater fish, from catfish and bass to pumpkinseeds (a variety of sunfish), bluegill and crappie.
"I really feel that somewhere out there is a person who has one, and they just eat it," he said about state record fish.
"If you are an average fisherman, and you don't belong to a club . you just don't know about it."
Judkins not only keeps the records, he has set one, and not on purpose.
He was poking around for crappie at Hagg Lake southwest of Portland last Aug. 4, when he tied into what turned out to be the state record brown bullhead, 3 pounds, 7 ounces.
Records for smaller fish - the pumpkinseed benchmark is 7.68 ounces. For Sacramento perch, it's 11.2 ounces - are the most overlooked, he said.
Judkins' advice:
Get the list of state record fish and take it with you.
It is available on Oregon Bass & Panfish Club Web sites or by calling or writing for a copy.
If you suspect a record, don't clean it.
"The best thing you could do is not eat the damn thing," Judkins said.
Get pictures of the fish in profile.
Also measure the length and girth of the fish. While you are writing things down, record the date caught and the location of the catch.
You have 30 days from the date of your catch to apply for certification as a state warmwater record.
Photos are used determine the species.
Witnesses are required for certification: At least one who saw the fish caught, and another to verify the weight on .
A certified scale. To be recognized, any record must be weighed on such a scale.
Any supermarket scale that has been stamped as accurate by weights and measures qualifies.
And don't be embarrassed about taking your fish to the store, Judkins said.
"Actually, they were pretty excited at Safeway about it," he laughed, remembering his bullhead record.
There's no reward for having a state record.
The Bass & Panfish Club gives the record-setter a $25 reward, and a certificate to frame.
But there is something about having those bragging rights, Judkins said.
"It's something to show your great grandkids," he said. "Having a state record is really kind of neat." http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=43170
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
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"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878