SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. — A fish nearly as long as the man who reeled it in is now the largest flathead catfish ever caught in the state of Florida.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission certified the state record flathead catfish weighing 69.9 pounds, measuring 48.5 inches long, 38.25 inches in circumference. Fisherman Lavon Nowling caught the fish with his rod and reel using live bait in the Yellow River in Santa Rosa County, according to a news release from FWC.
“I’ve caught some good ones before this fish, but none of them were more than 54 pounds,” Nowling told FWC. “I’ve been fishing since I was old enough to hold a pole and have been fishing on Yellow River as long as I can remember.”
Biologists at FWC's Blackwater Hatchery near Holt weighed the fish on a certified scale. The previous record-holding catfish catch was caught in 2019 in the same river, weighing 69.3 pounds.
“I’ve been deep sea fishing to creek fishing and I never expected to catch a state record fish,” Nowling told FWC. “That day I was fishing for channel catfish and can’t believe I caught a huge flathead. I was in the right place at the right time.”
The FWC says flathead catfish are not a native species to Florida's Panhandle river systems. They prefer long, slow-flowing, moderately turbid rivers and lead a solitary lifestyle making them more difficult to catch than other catfish.
In order to properly certify a Florida state record, FWC employees must witness its weighing on a certified scale and a biologist must identify the species. Anglers can check current records at BigCatchFlorida.com by clicking on "State Record."
