BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. (WLNS) — If there wasn’t a picture, no one would’ve believed it.
Indiana resident Lloyd Tanner was fishing the St. Joseph River, a tributary of Lake Michigan, early on Sunday, May 29 when he caught a 53.35 pound flathead catfish.
That narrowly beat out the previous state-record flathead catfish that was caught in 2014 and weighed 52 pounds.
Tanner’s fish was verified by the Lake Michigan Basin Coordinator with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, a requirement to be eligible for the state-record.
“I’ve been fishing Michigan for almost 30 years,” Tanner said. “What draws me to Michigan is fishing for big catfish.”
Tanner said he usually comes to Michigan every weekend to fish with friends in the Michigan Catfish Anglers Trail, an amateur fishing club.
“We have several fun tournaments that anyone who enjoys fishing for catfish can come out and fish,” he said.
