SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources announced Aug. 1 that an angler from Wayne County caught a state record channel catfish, marking the sixth state record catch of 2024 so far.
John Tyler Rutherford caught the 43.51-inch, 46.70-pound channel catfish in his father’s farm pond in Wayne County on July 21, breaking the length record set in 2022 and the weight record set in 2023. Both records previously were held by Alan Burkett of Moorefield in Hardy County, who caught his fish at South Mill Creek Lake in Grant County.
Rutherford reeled in his record catch using worms. WVDNR District Fishery Biologist Jeff Hansbarger and Assistant Fishery Biologist Jake Whalen traveled to the site to measure and weigh the record fish.
In addition to this channel catfish, record tiger trout, redbreast sunfish, bowfin, redear sunfish and black crappie have been caught this year.
