It Was “This Big” – I Swear!

And they have the photos to prove it. Thanks to Kenny Fletcher for sending. He writes:

Thought you might like to see what lurks beneath the waters of the Potomac in D.C.

I was fishing Saturday afternoon with my friend, Campbell Moore, off the shore in Georgetown using chicken gizzards for bait (bought at the Petworth Safeway). My friend hooked this giant catfish, and a 25-minute back and forth battle ensued. It was pretty tense, as we knew that the line could snap at any minute. We ended up with quite an audience, as several canoes, kayakers and paddle boarders stopped to watch the fight. When the fish finally tired out and allowed itself to be pulled near the riverbank, I waded out, stuck my hands its mouth and hoisted it up onto the shore.

We took a few pictures of the fish before releasing it back into the river, and it swam off as if nothing had happened (large catfish from the Potomac are not safe to eat because of accumulated pollutants). We estimated it measured close to 3.5 feet and weighed 30-35 pounds. For scale, my friend is about 6’1″. And they can get much bigger than this… A guy caught an 80-pound catfish in the Potomac in Prince George’s County in February. Anyway, just a reminder that we share the city with some surprising creatures. While we were fishing, and with the Key Bridge as a backdrop, we also saw a bald eagle grab a large fish and fly off toward the trees on the Virginia side.

Awesome! Kenny mentions that there was a guy taking video of the fight in a nearby canoe – if you happen to be or know the person that took the video please send me an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail so Kenny and Campbell can see the video.