Angler from Fruitland lands the largest catfish in Idaho history

MOUNTAIN HOME (KIVI) — It has been a record summer for catfish fishing in idaho as the record for the largest catfish has been broken twice.

In late July, Hammett Valley Fishing Adventures took Paul Newman and John Schafer to CJ Strike Reservoir on the Snake River south of Mountain Home.

They were hoping to catch sturgeon, but instead Paul Newman caught the only fish of the day and it turned out to be a new record in Idaho.

“If you are going to set records, this is the state to set the record out in God’s country,” said Paul Newman. “It was such an awesome catch, we had good adrenaline on the boat, everybody was hyped, they could tell it was a record-breaking catfish.”

The catfish measured 42.5 inches long, had a girth of 32 inches and weighed 37 pounds, the fish broke the old record for length set in 2020 by nine and a half inches.

The fish would have also broke the record for weight set earlier this summer by Kody Kastner at 32.9 pounds, but these anglers didn’t certify the weight, instead, they let the fish go.

“This is a great renewable resource we have at CJ Strike and the Snake River,” said Tim Parrish of Hammett Valley Fishing Adventures. “We didn’t want to kill the fish, we could have had the record by five pounds, but it wasn’t worth it. That fish was so majestic and such a beautiful fish we got our measurements really quick, put it in the water revived it and let it swim for someone else to catch.”