Tri-State teen reels in possible record-setting blue catfish

CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - A New Richmond teen reeled in what might be a state record-setting blue catfish on April 7.

Jaylynn Parker, a 15-year-old student at New Richmond High School, says she has been fishing with her father since she was young, but needed help to get the more than 101-pound catfish from the Ohio River.

“I was screaming,” Parker recalls. “I was so surprised. I didn’t think he was going to be that big at all.”

Parker did not use a traditional rod and reel to pull in her catch. She used a technique called jugging.

All it takes is a Clorox jug, a 200-pound test line, a hook, and some skipjack for bait.

“We just take like a tree branch, bigger than this usually,” Parker describes, “and we just take it and we run it through the handle and then up by the tree so it would be up here more so it can’t go anywhere or float off unless a big fish comes and like breaks it or something.”

The 101-pound catfish did not break the line.

Once up on the scale, the catfish weighed in at 101.11 pounds.

“And I start pulling him up and he starts pulling me real hard,” Parker explained. “I was like, ‘Uh oh, this is a big fish.’ I pull him up after I get him all untangled. I pulled him up and he rolled over on his side and he was just massive.”

Jaylynn Parker, 15, caught the 101-pound blue catfish, that she named Bobby, on April 7, 2024. — Jaylynn Parker, 15, caught the 101-pound blue catfish, that she named Bobby, on April 7, 2024.(WXIX)

With her dad Chuck in the background and family friend Jeff Sams holding the fish, Parker said there was no way she could have pulled him by herself.

“I mean, I’m probably 10 pounds bigger than him,” Parker said. “I mean, there is no way I could get him in the boat by myself.”

Jaylynn Parker said there was no way she could have pulled in the 101-pound catfish without... — Jaylynn Parker said there was no way she could have pulled in the 101-pound catfish without her dad, Chuck, and family friend Jeff Sams.(WXIX)

Parker and her family took a moment to get photos and videos of her big catch before releasing it back into the Ohio River.

The 15-year-old New Richmond teen is waiting for official confirmation from the state of Ohio to see if the fish she caught is a record catch.

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