Cave Run Lake is located on Kentucky’s Licking River in the Daniel Boone National Forest. The 8,700-acre reservoir is often called "the Muskie Capital of the South," due to its outstanding muskellunge fishery.

Angler Sarah Terry of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, caught the current Kentucky state-record muskellunge in Cave Run Lake in November 2008. The record setting muskie was 54 inches long and weighed 47 pounds. A clipped fin revealed that the fish was stocked by the KYDFWR.

Since 1973, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KYDFWR) has stocked 105,000 muskellunge into Cave Run Lake. Cave Run Lake is one of three quality muskellunge reservoirs managed by the agency.

source: Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

Recently, Potomac River blue catfish have been in the spotlight. On February 23, 2012, a Pennsylvania angler caught an 80-pound, 12-ounce blue catfish in the Potomac River near Fort Washington. The enormous blue catfish broke the Maryland State record, surpassing the previous record holder by 13 pounds. The previous record fish was caught in 2008 not far from where Wetzel caught his fish.

Blue catfish are native to the Mississippi River Valley and were introduced to the James and Rappahannock Rivers in the 1970s. Since then, the fish have reproduced and spread throughout the tidal Potomac River system. Flathead catfish, another non-native invasive species, and blue catfish have subsequently turned up in the Nanticoke, Susquehanna and Northeast Rivers, Upper Chesapeake Bay and other waters.

source: MD DNR

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has certified Dan Germain as the new holder of the state record for brook trout.

The record setting brook trout measured 22 inches and weighed in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces, surpassing the previous state record set in 2009 by 3.5 ounces.

Mr. Germain submitted details of his winning fish as part of DEC's Angler Achievement Awards Program. Information about the Program, including past winners and a downloadable application form, can be found on DEC's website.

source: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

A bowfin caught by Chris Hoffman of Hamilton, NJ, has been confirmed as a new state record for the species by the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Mr. Hoffman was fishing for largemouth bass from his boat in the Delaware River near the Mercer Generating Station in Trenton, NJ. on July 4, 2011, when the fish grabbed a 4" soft plastic Senko fish on  6 pound line.

The 10 lb. 14 oz. bowfin, was 29.9" long and had a girth of 14.6". It broke the old record, set 23 years ago in 1988, by 2 lb. 10 oz.

The bowfin is a predatory fish that feeds on frogs, fish, and other prey.

For details on the New Jersey State Record fish program, see: www.njfishandwildlife.com/recfish.htm

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) State Record Fish Committee recently confirmed that a 143-pound blue catfish is a new state record. This is the second time the state record for blue catfish has been broken in 2011.

The enormous blue catfish was caught by Richard Nicholas "Nick" Anderson in John H. Kerr Reservoir (Buggs Island Lake) on Saturday, June 18.

At 143 pounds and 57 inches in length with a girth of 43.5 inches the new state record blue catfish is noteably larger than the previous Virginia state record blue catfish.

The monster blue catfish is the third confirmed freshwater fish over 100 pounds caught in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

If certified by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), the Virginia blue catfish will shatter the previous world record, a 130-pound blue catfish caught in the Missouri River in 2010.

source: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

In Kansas, rainbow trout fishing in Lake Shawnee has been outstanding this spring. On April 2, Bob Lorson caught an 11.02-pound rainbow that was confirmed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) as a new state record.


On April 20, Ed Ames of Tecumseh was fishing the same lake when he landed a monster 13.65-pound rainbow, more than 2.5 pounds larger than Lorson’s catch.

An official from KDWP confirmed the species of the fish, which measured 31 7/8 inches with a girth of 17 1/4 inches. After a 30 day waiting period, KDWP entered Ames’ rainbow as the new state record.

For more information on Kansas state record fish, anglers can obtain a copy of the 2011 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary, available wherever licenses are sold, or visit the KDWP website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us.

source: Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks