West Virginia angler lands 72.75-pound blue catfish to set new state record on the Ohio River

Tyler Harmon, a Ravenswood, West Virginia angler, wasn’t chasing a record on a casual Friday outing on the Ohio River. Fishing with his 4-year-old son, Walker, and his father, Rodney, Harmon set four catfish rods behind their 18-foot aluminum boat in water about 25 to 30 feet deep. A barge wake loosened their anchor, and one rod doubled over. The fight lasted about 20 minutes until the team netted a blue catfish that tipped the scale at 72.75 pounds, 48.15 inches long and 33.5 inches around. It surpasses Michael Ramey’s 71-pound fish caught in May, setting a new state record.