Dad catches state record catfish using his 3-year-old daughter’s neon pink fishing rod
· Aug 14, 2024 · NottheBee.com

John Tyler Rutherford of Wayne County, West Virginia, caught a state-record-winning channel catfish in his dad's pond while taking his 3-year-old daughter fishing using a neon pink fishing rod that cost him $9.99.

What a guy!

Rutherford told West Virginia Outdoors,

She's three and she can reel them in, but she can't cast it out. So I cast it out for her and I was holding the rod and she was sitting on my lap.

But I don't think she would have been able to reel this fish in without Dad's help. The record-winning fish weighed in at a whopping 46.70 pounds and was 43.51 inches long.

It took both Rutherford and his dad to get the fish up onto the shore. They then contacted the West Virginia DNR to come out and measure the fish to verify the record.

The monster catfish surpassed the previous state record holders for both weight and length.

Hard to believe a fish like that could be brought in with a $10 kids' rod, but there it is.

Rutherford said of the fish,

She was exhausted, but thankfully the Good Lord wanted the legend to live on. She was able to get herself back to where she was able to go back and forth on her own. She's alive and well.


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