A 12-pound 2.9-ounce white catfish caught near Spence’s Point last week is in the process of being certified as a state record, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Charles Earp is the lucky angler. He told the DNR he hooked the fish with a treble-hooked sponge coated in Sonny’s Super Sticky Catfish dip bait in about 6 to 8 feet of water.
The fish was identified by two SCDNR representatives and weighed on registered scales in Columbia, S.C. DNR Fisheries biologist Ron Ahle told South Carolina Sportsman he wasn’t surprised by the record-setting catch.
“We have been seeing a substantial increase in the size of white catfish in this lake from our surveys,” Ahle told the website. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see another record white catfish or a state-record white perch come out of this lake, because I know they are in here.”
Ahle said the DNR is currently processing the paperwork to make the record official. The previous white catfish record of 9 pounds 15 ounces has stood for nearly 30 years. That fish was caught in 1986 by Jim Schwietert. SCDNR will also provide Earp with a mount of the fish and a duplicate mount will be displayed at DNR headquarters in Columbia.