Mississippi man catches 131-pound catfish, sets state record

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man reeled in a massive blue catfish that set a state record. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks says Eugene Cronley of Brandon caught the 131-pound fish April 7 in the Mississippi River near Natchez. Cronley tells the Clarion Ledger that he has been catfishing all his life and never dreamed of something like this. The department says Cronley’s fish broke the previous rod-and-reel record of a 95-pound fish caught in 2009. It’s also larger than the 101-pound blue catfish caught by a team of two people in 1997. Both of those fish were also caught in the Mississippi River near Natchez.