Many people were affected by a flood in Bullet County, Kentucky in 2018. Some residents’ yards were engulfed by the water that spilled out of the Salt River at that time.
But one man named Robert Watkins found something fun to do in the otherwise stressful time. Robert was well-aware that many large catfish call the Salt River home. So he wondered if he’d happen to find some catfish in the waters that surrounded his home and filled his yard.
Robert and a friend worked together to set up some limb lines in an attempt to catch some catfish. Their efforts were successful…even more so than they anticipated.
The two men caught a monster catfish in Robert’s yard. Chris Fegett posted some photos on Facebook that show Robert pulling the large catfish out of the water. Robert’s daughter, Heather, saw the post and confirmed her dad was the man in the photos.
A lil fishing on first st. In shepherdsville ky.
Posted by Chris Fegett on Sunday, February 25, 2018
As you’d expect, the photos of Robert and the catfish went viral. Media outlets started contacting him to learn more about the impressive catch.
During an interview with WDRB, Robert often sets up tree lines to try and catch catfish during floods. He knows there are some huge fish in the river, such as the one he caught in the photos that went viral.
He believed that particular catfish weighed 55-60 pounds. He didn’t know exactly how much it weighed since the fish maxed out his scale, which wouldn’t weigh anything larger than 50 pounds.
Most shockingly, Robert revealed this particular fish wasn’t the biggest one he ever caught in his yard. He said seven years prior, he reeled in 16 catfish that weighed even more. One of those former fish weighed 85 pounds!
The 2011 flood sounds even worse than the one in 2018. Those waters were so high, they reached the shutters of Robert’s home.
Y’all are probably wondering what Robert had in mind for the fish he caught in 2018. Don’t worry, he didn’t eat it!
Though he did have an unusual (albeit temporary) plan for the fish immediately after catching it. The fish was tied to his porch!
Robert obviously had bigger plans in mind for the fish’s future, since his yard wouldn’t be full of water forever. He knew a friend with a pond, so he thought he could give the fish to him. If that didn’t pan out, he intended to release it back to the river.
Want to learn more about catching catfish? Check out the clip below.
Down South, some people enjoy “noodling,” which is when you fish for catfish with your hands. It requires a lot of effort, though often results in some super impressive catches.
Have y’all ever gone fishing for catfish before? Whether you’ve been noodling or caught a catfish in your own yard like Robert, we’d love to hear your wildest stories!