New Record Blue Catfish in Maryland

Fort Washington, Md. (September 5, 2012) Ed Jones from Aloha, Oregon caught a Maryland record blue catfish weighing 84 pounds and measuring 52 inches long, with a girth of 36.5 inches on August 13 in the Potomac River near Fort Washington. Jones and his guide, Captain Josh Fitchett of Montpelier, Va., kept the fish alive and took it into Fort Washington Marina to have it weighed and certified by a Maryland Department of Natural Resource (DNR) Fisheries Service biologist.

The previous Maryland blue catfish record was an 80-pound, 12-ounce fish caught in February by Shawn Wetzel of Orrtanna, Pa., near where Jones caught his record fish.

As part of a cooperative study by Maryland and Virginia fisheries biologists, DNR biologists tagged the fish before Jones and Fitchett returned the fish alive into the Potomac near where they caught it. Anglers who catch and report a tagged catfish will receive a commemorative Catfish Program hat and pin, while helping study distribution of catfish in area waters. Anglers must call the number on the yellow or green tags, 301-888-2423, to receive the reward.