SAN ANTONIO – A junior angler named Colt Franke finally got his big catch after trying for three years.
Colt managed to reel in a 33.5-inch, 24.5 lbs. blue catfish at Calaveras Lake last week, according to the Inland Fisheries San Antonio District with Texas Parks and Wildlife.
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That beats the previous junior angler record for a blue catfish caught in Calaveras Lake by more than two pounds.
The previous record was set by Braedon Brown on Oct. 10, although Braedon’s fish was longer.
Inland Fisheries officials posted a photo on Facebook on Tuesday of the junior angler posing with his catch.
TPWD officials gave a shoutout to Travis Franke and San Antonio Fishing Charters for sending in the application, along with a note from Colt.
In the note, Colt said he’d been trying to break the record for three years while working on his dad’s boat.
Colt said he and his dad have released many fish that were as big or bigger than his record-breaker but the anglers wanted those fish to spawn.
He said the meat from his fish was donated to a local food pantry.
Up next? Colt said he’s looking to get his name on the Texas Elite Angler list.
“It’s the perfect time of year to catch blue catfish, they can either be caught from the bank or from a boat. Many anglers have luck using cut bait, fishing off the bottom,” said Mitch Nisbet, fisheries biologist with the San Antonio District Office of TPWD.