On May 9th, Justin Connor of Milton caught a 51.49-inch, 66.30-pound blue catfish on the Kanawha River in Putnam County using a mooneye on 80-pound test line. WVDNR fish culturist Ryan Bosserman, who works at the Apple Grove Fish Hatchery, confirmed Connor’s catch, which surpasses the previous 50.82-inch length record, set by Kimberly Feltner of Madison, Ind. in 2024. The blue catfish weight record remains with Michael John Drake, who caught a 69.45-pound, 50.51-inch fish on the Ohio River in 2023.
So far in 2025, the WVDNR has reported a record-breaking 26.26-inch, 9.85-pound largemouth bass and 3.6-pound, 17.7-inch black crappie in May, a record-breaking 24.57-inch, 5.75-pound redhorse sucker and record-breaking 12.44-inch, 1.60-pound redear sunfish in April and a record-breaking 27.60-inch, 12.55-pound tiger trout in March. A current list of state record fish can be found at WVdnr.gov/state-records
