It took three years for a boy to catch this record-breaking catfish in Texas lake

For three years, junior angler Colt Franke has tried to break a Texas lake’s record.

Now, he is “so happy” he can finally call himself a record holder.

The young boy recently reeled in Calaveras Lake’s youth record-breaking blue catfish, according to a Nov. 30 Facebook post from the Inland Fisheries San Antonio District of Texas Parks and Wildlife. Colt’s age was not released.

In a letter sent to fisheries officials, Colt wrote how he had been trying to catch this fish for three years. While he was working on his dad’s boat, Colt got the chance to reel the fish in.

“I (grabbed) this rod and (tried) to hand it off but she said ‘no you reel it,’” he said in a letter shared to Facebook.

He managed to catch the fish, and said, “I was so happy to see that it was like 25 pounds.”

Officially, the blue catfish measured in at 33.5 inches and 24.5 pounds.

Statewide, the junior angler record for blue catfish measured 72.40 inches and 50.75 pounds. It was reeled in by Cade Childress on March 6 in Lake Tawakoni. The adult division’s record blue catfish measured 121.50 inches and 58 pounds on Jan. 16, 2004, by Cody Mullennix in Texoma.

Colt says this isn’t the biggest fish his family has caught.

“We have also released many fish as big and bigger,” he wrote. “But we needed them to spawn.”

This time, the fish was not released, but Colt says the meat was donated to a local food pantry.

Having beat a goal he set three years ago, Colt now has his eyes on something new.

“I (heard) about the elite anglers program and I will try my (hardest) to get my name on that list!” he wrote.

“No doubt we will see it there someday!” state officials said.

Texas Elite Anglers are those who have caught “trophy class fish of five different species.”

Calaveras Lake is about 20 miles south of San Antonio.

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