Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A Michigan man caught a new state-record flathead catfish.

While bowfishing recently in Monroe County; an angler from Newport Codie Carlson, caught a new state-record fish: a flathead catfish weighing in at 64.46 pounds and measuring 45 inches.

Carlson was bowfishing Plum Creek in the early-morning hours of Sunday, June 29th when he brought in the record-breaker.

The fish beats the previous state-record flathead catfish — 53.35 pounds, 43 inches — caught in 2022 by Lloyd Tanner of Hobart, Indiana on the St. Joseph River in Berrien County.

DNR fisheries biologist John Buszkiewicz, who works out of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Lake Erie Fisheries Management Unit, verified Carlson’s new state-record fish. Buszkiewicz and his crew may have even caught this exact fish during a survey in the same location in 2020; at the time, the fish caught weighed 55 pounds and measured 43 inches.

Carlson, a self-described "true fishoholic" said, "I thought I was about to shoot a channel catfish for dinner. Turns out, I guess we do have flathead catfish in these waters."

Michigan's state-record fish are recognized by weight only. To qualify, fish must exceed the current listed state-record weight and be weighed on a certified commercial scale, and identification must be verified by a DNR fisheries biologist.

A current list of Michigan state-record fish by species and more information about fishing in the state is available in the provided links.