Teen Is Florida's New 'Catfish Master'

JACKSON COUNTY, FL — A 13-year-old from Alabama is officially a record-breaking fisherman, according to Florida officials.

It seems Charles Patchen dropped a line into the Chattahoochee River on May 15 and pulled out a 63.8-pound flathead catfish around 2:30 p.m. The massive catch broke the state’s previous record by more than 8 pounds, officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission say.

Patchen wasn’t exactly thrilled when his mother and stepfather, Jeanette and Bryan Atwell, suggested he going bream fishing with them, FWC reported. While the family had a busy morning of catches, things started to slow down.

“Patchen’s stepfather suggested there might be a larger fish lurking in the water scaring off the bream,” FWC explained in a media release. Working on that hunch, they switched out bait from minnows to the bluegill they caught earlier.

It wasn’t long after that when Patchen’s line was hit. He quickly set the hook, but thought the line might be hung up on something under the water. Hoping to retrieve the line, he asked his stepfather for help.

“I grabbed the pole from him, gave it a couple tugs and the fish took off,” said Atwell. “I handed the pole back to Charles and said, ‘get ‘em.’”

Patchen battled the catfish hooked to his Zebco 33 for about two hours while Atwell guided the boat. The fish, the family reported, finally gave up and was reeled in.

“I was so tired after reeling it in that I fell back into the boat to rest,” Patchen said. “But I’m glad my mom made me go fishing that day because now I am the catfish master.”

Bryan Atwell’s father, Grady, was a long time FWC conservation officer. He said bringing Patchen along for the trip was just part of passing along a tradition. “All I can say is, carry a kid fishing.”

Katie Woodside, a FWC biologist, met with Patchen and the Atwells the next day to certify the catch. The fish measured in at 48.03 inches in length and had a girth of 35.43 inches.

“Charles’ flathead catfish is a great catch to add to our state records — and caught on a 14-pound test line, by a 13-year-old at that,” said Tom Champeau, FWC’s director of the Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management. “Just one more reason why Florida is the ‘Fishing Capital of the World.’”

Prior to Patchen’s catch, the previous record flathead catfish weighed 55.05 pounds. It was caught on the Yellow River by James Auston Jr. back in 2011.

In order for a catch to be considered for state record standing, a biologist must verify the species and certify the weight on a notarized application, FWC said. The agency keeps records for 33 different freshwater species.

For his catch, Patchen will receive a certificate and online recognition. The fish also counts as his first “Big Catch” towards becoming a “catfish specialist or master angler.” The state’s Big Catch is a recognition program that awards anglers certificates if they qualify after submitting photos of their catches.

To find out more about Big Catch, go to BigCatchFlorida.com. To check out other state records, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing.

Photos courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission