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63-POUND CATFISH ALMOST A RECORD
CONTACT: Fred Cross (850) 265-3676

Ponce de Leon resident Doyle Ammons has caught plenty of fish over his 76 years. None of his fish compare, however, to the near-record 63-pound blue catfish he caught Nov. 6 from the Choctawhatchee River.

Ammons’ fish was 48 inches long and would have almost certainly been certified as the new Florida record, except for one thing – he caught his fish on a bush hook, sometimes called a “limb line.” It is legal to fish with bush hooks or trotlines, but fish caught by such methods are not eligible for certification as new records. Only record freshwater fish caught by conventional hook-and-line or rod-and-reel can be accepted.

His fish weighed 1.5 pounds more than the recognized state record blue cat. That fish was caught by rod-and-reel from Little Escambia Creek in Escambia County in 1996.

Despite the fact his catfish won’t show up in the record books, Ammons said it was satisfaction enough to catch the biggest blue cat ever landed in Florida.

Ammons said his bush hook was tied to a limber green vine hanging over the edge of the river, a factor he credits in “wearing down” the catfish. For bait he used chunks of bowfin.

This was his second large blue catfish in the past two months, the other a 55-pounder.