Catfish record set on Berrien County stretch of St. Joe River in 2022 has been broken

BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- The record for largest flathead catfish that was set on the St. Joseph River in Berrien County was broken by a bowfisher in Monroe County. 

The previous record, set by Lloyd Tanner in 2022, was 53.35 pounds and 43-inches long. Codie Carlson shot his catfish in Plum Creek, on the east side of the state. It weighted 64.46 pounds and was 45 inches in length, a new state-record fish.

DNR fisheries biologist John Buszkiewicz, who works out of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Lake Erie Fisheries Management Unit, verified Carlson’s new state-record fish. Buszkiewicz and his crew may have even caught this exact fish during a survey in the same location in 2020.

At the time, the fish caught weighed 55 pounds and measured 43 inches.

"I thought I was about to shoot a channel catfish for dinner," Carlson said. "Turns out, I guess we do have flathead catfish in these waters."

Michigan's state-record fish are recognized by weight only, and to qualify, fish must exceed the current listed state-record weight and be weighed on a certified commercial scale, and identification must be verified by a DNR fisheries biologist.

Carlson caught the record-setting fish on Sunday, June 29.