[Brutom]

From the IndianaInfo forum:

"Received a call at the house Saturday afternoon from a couple of fishermen who needed a DNR biologist to positively ID what they claimed was a new state record flathead. They had it weighed on a certified scale but were told before they cleaned it they should have it looked at. Well, I looked at it and confirmed it's a flathead...The fishermen's name, who hooked it, is Donald Kershaw (on the right in photo). He's from Monrovia. Him and his friend were fishing under the IN-42 bridge at Cataract. Donald hooked it just before midnight and it took him 30-40 min to land it (with help). They wouldn't tell what bait they were using but both smiled when I said it was probably alive and bigger than a leech. It measured 48 inches TL with a girth of 32 inches."

 

[metalman]

At the risk of starting a huge argument I have to say how dissapointing it is to see another giant in the back of a pick up truck. I know, I know we've thrashed this out before and the guy has the right to do whatever he wants with his fish but that is just my feeling...W

 

[CatfishWEIRDO]

I agree with you metalman.

 

[LilRyjoe04]

Yah, I don't agree with them doing that either. Why don't they CPR? I haven't kept one fish all year. My brother caught a fifty two pounder out of Eagle Creek reservoir and that was a record for there and we CPR'd it. That's a shame that the fish had to die. Did it die? Good Luck Fishing guys!!

-Later

 

[typer181]

I must say that I would be excited to bring one in that big, it may even cloud my perception between right and wrong. Let's face it, most of the time I find trash everywhere on the bank, people don't care about the mess they leave. This lack of fore thought allows people to do stupid things without thinking about the future of the rest of us.

 

[Butchy]

This lack of fore thought allows people to do stupid things without thinking about the future of the rest of us.

In this case I have to respectfully disagree, we can't just let people that do these things off the hook because they didn't think. In my opinion they just don't care, it's a lack of respect. When I fish somewhere I NEVER litter and I sometimes pick up other people's trash, and if I catch a big fish I put it back out of respect. I say these guys did think about it because they went to trouble to fish for big fish: obviously tackle that could handle a big fish, being there at night, and used bait that was

probably alive and bigger than a leech

. That's alot of thought. These guys probably keep everything they catch and it's unfortunate that they kept that one. This is just the way I see it and I know I assumed some things, but I in no way meant to offend anyone and if i did I apologize.

 

[cook]

I'll buck the trend.

Way to go guys!!Congrats.

If I caught a potential record-I would do all I could to keep it alive.BUT......
catching it at midnight,who knows how many miles from the ramp,.....finding a certified scale,.....contacting the bioligist,......getting pics,...etc.....

Well,releasing it just may not have been an option.

Eating it,feeding a family,instead of wasting it,is true respect.

But like others said,this is an old argument.

 

[metalman]

I don't really blame the guy that caught it. He didn't break the law and obviously did a good job to bring it in. And, let's face it, it is a fish of a lifetime. I think the real fault is with the law. If catfish enjoyed game fish status and the protection that brings we catfishermen would all benefit in the long run and maybe someone else would have had a chance to catch that fish in the future. Obviously I don't know for sure but I would bet that was the first time that fish had been caught. I don't hate the guy, It's just a shame I.M.H.O....W

 

[Brutom]

What is the formula for determining the weight of a fish based on its size?

The rule of thumb for fish weights of various body types are:

Pike (length X length X length) divided by 3500

Walleye (length X length X length) divided by 2700

Bass (length X length X length) divided by 1600

Bluegill (length X length X length) divided by 1200

Another generalized formula is:

(girth X girth X length) divided by 800

All of these will result in reasonable approximations.

I copied this from the In-Fisherman website.

And I get it at 61 lbs. by the generalized formula.

 

[whiskerfisher]

Nice fish!! You caught it, its all your decision now. I bring a camera take a couple snapshots and let them go. Fishing is what you make off it, some guys keep them, some don't, some trash the place but most don't.

 

[Cdbush28]

Hey Brutom, do you think the weight calculator is wrong or the scale was wrong? From the picture the fish doesn't look 85lbs to me. I have also seen several 60+ fish that have had bad pictures that look small and then i have also seen several 30-40lbers that look like world records. It's funny how camera angles can alter the perception of a fish.

 

[Brutom]

I'd say that the weight calculation is an approximation, and therefore not to be taken as exact...however, I'd reckon it'd be a lot closer than plus or minus 25% regardless of the species of fish you'd use it on.
More likely its withen 5 or 10% at most.
So, I'm confident that this fish must only be mid-sixties at most. Based on the reported length and girth.

 

[sam]

Its not a very good photo of the fish, but i kind of agree, it doesn't look as big as what they are saying. How-ever they did have it wieghted on a certified scale.
I guess we'll just have to wait until DNR does their job of certifiying it before we'll know for sure.

 

[Cdbush28]

An old fisherman that i know once told me that when a catfish reaches 30inches that it weighs aprox. 1lb per inch. This has held very true and almost exactly on every fish i have ever caught over the 30 in.length.

 

[fishfanatic]

probably alive and bigger than a leech

Hmmm? I wonder what the bait was? I thought to qualify for state record you had to tell the bait, pound test of line etc.

 

[river scum]

my 2cents

like cook said,i dont know the details. i would hope they tried to keep the fish alive though. a fish of that size deserves to live on (imo). as for feeding it to my family,no f in way would i eat such a toxin filled beast let alone feed it to my kids. lol

record stood since 66,congrats on the new record guys if you read this.

 

[wolfman]

From looking at the picture the flathead appears to be dead. Most Flatheads when held by the mouth like that will have their tail curled up if they are alive.

 

[Jroc777]

I believe that they did kill the fish. If you refer to the first post you will see this statement: "They had it weighed on a certified scale but were told before they cleaned it they should have it looked at." Judging from this I imagine they probably cleaned the fish to eat.

 

[HoosierPoleCat]

Anyway you slice the pie that is a nice flattie. I wish the boys luck on the new record. I'm not going to agree or disagree about the fish not being returned to the waters to fight another day. They must have their reasons.

 

[Brutom]

Bruce Tomlin
[email protected]
Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.

Milestones
The 1 that didn't get away
Monrovia man's huge flathead catfish could wind up being a state-record catch.



Denizen of the deep: Donald Kershaw (left), with help from his friend Doug Rush, landed this monster flathead catfish at Cataract Lake. He caught it the night before this Aug. 20 photo. -- Photo provided by Donald Kershaw

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Donald Kershaw

• Age: 45.

• Residence: Monrovia.

• Family: Married to his wife, Diana, 43, for 25 years. The couple have one daughter, Brianna, 14.

• Occupation: Inspector at Sum Co., an electroplating shop, for 28 years.

• Milestone: Caught an 85-pound flathead catfish that may break a 39-year-old state record.



Flathead catfish up close and personal

• Scientific name: Pylodictus olivarus.

• Range: Large, slow-moving rivers in the Mississippi River basin.

• Size: Can grow up to 100 pounds, but most are caught between two and 50 pounds.

• Feeding: Carnivorous; fish swim into shallow water to catch their prey.

• Life span: Up to 20 years.



Source: Encyclopedia of Animals






By Tania E. Lopez
[email protected]



Donald Kershaw feared he and his buddy would go home empty-handed after nearly six hours of fishing at Cataract Lake.

Kershaw, 45, Monrovia, had begun to think of leaving when, two minutes before midnight under a full moon, the fish hit his line.

"He took my line out three times, and luckily I was on the bank," Kershaw said. "I knew right away this was the biggest fish I had ever hooked into."

Last month's catch turned out to be an 85-pound flathead catfish that may break a 39-year-old state record.

According to Department of Natural Resources Chief of Fisheries Bill James, the record is a 79{1frac2}-pound flathead catfish caught in 1966 in White River in Lawrence County. State officials are waiting on certification of the scales used to weigh Kershaw's fish before calling it the record-breaker.

Kershaw's catfish is not the biggest fish ever caught in Indiana waters. A spoonbill catfish caught in 1966 weighed 106 pounds and measured about 4 feet long.

So much for superstition

Anglers have a superstition that fish don't bite during a full moon.

Kershaw said he won't believe that anymore.

At about 11:58 p.m. Aug. 19, Kershaw's pole bounced once, then twice.

"It was pretty warm out, and we were planning on leaving at midnight," said Kershaw, who was scheduled to work the next morning. "At two minutes to midnight, the fish hit my pole."

Kershaw picked up the pole, and the catfish swam with his bait. Kershaw set the hook, and the battle was on.

Kershaw tried to reel in the prehistoric-looking fish, but it took all his line out three times. The fourth time the fish took off, it broke the handle off his reel.

Determined, Kershaw walked along the bank and kept the line taut.

Finally, he got the fish about 3 feet from the bank. His buddy Doug Rush, 38, saw the enormous fish and yelled in excitement for Kershaw not to lose it.

"I saw it, and I knew right then that was one fish we didn't want to get away," Rush said.

Kershaw's line broke, and he yelled for Rush to grab it. Rush held the line with both hands and tugged.

After nearly half an hour of struggling, the fish gave in.

"It was like an old fat person who ran a block and needed sleep for a week," Rush said. "You could just see his gills, and it was extremely worn out."

Kershaw and Rush struggled with the fish after pulling it onto land, and they both pounced on it.

"A lot of people don't believe we jumped on him, but that's about all that we could do," Kershaw said.

"I usually let the bigger fish go because they produce more fish, but Doug insisted we take it home. How many people would believe we released a fish this big? Nobody."

By 4:30 a.m., they arrived at Kershaw's house.

Rush took care of certifying the fish, and Kershaw left for work.

"At that point, we didn't know it was a record," Rush said.

Kershaw's wife said they wouldn't eat the fish because its size makes it unappetizing.

"It's big, and it's ugly," said Diana Rush, 43. "Of course, I've never seen a pretty catfish."

Kershaw won't say what bait he used to catch the fish. The behemoth rests in a freezer, wrapped in yellow plastic, in a shed outside Kershaw's home.

"I still haven't comprehended what I've done, and I wonder how many people had a hold of that fish and it broke their line."

Call Star reporter Tania E. Lopez at (317) 444-2804.