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Stuart Vandyk wasn’t about to let a leg harm get between him and the following world-record blue catfish. With his proper leg in a solid, the bowfisherman from Eutawville, South Carolina, hit the Santee Cooper Lakes on Jan. 6. Vandyk and arrowed a monster blue cat later that night time that weighed 84.8 kilos. In addition to being the most important blue cat ever shot by a bowfisherman in South Carolina, his fish has been accepted as the brand new world document for the species by the Bowfishing Association of America.
A person on a mission, Vandyk additionally had a pleasant rating to settle that Friday night. As Carolina Sportsman experiences, his pal David Ard had harvested an 80-pound blue cat simply two weeks prior. Ard’s catfish was large enough to set the brand new bowfishing state and world data in BAA’s document e book, however Vandyk knew there needed to be some larger blues on the market. After all, the South Carolina state document for line-caught blue catfish was set on the Santee Cooper Lakes system. That fish, caught in 2017, weighed greater than 110 kilos.
Vandyk’s world-record fish may need been shy of the 100-pound mark, however together with his injured leg, the bowfisherman nonetheless had a tough time touchdown the fish. Luckily, Vandyk’s buddies have been there to assist him haul the large blue into the boat. Then they introduced the fish to a licensed scale, the place it weighed 84 kilos, 12.8 ounces. They additionally measured the catfish at 54 inches lengthy with a 37-inch girth.
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A word on data and laws: South Carolina fishing laws allow bowfishing for nongame species comparable to shad, blue catfish, bowfin, longnose gar, and customary carp. However, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources solely acknowledges bowfishing data for bowfin, longnose gar, and customary carp. Bowfishing data for blue catfish harvested within the state are acknowledged and maintained by the BAA. This explains why Vandyk’s blue cat is a South Carolina state document within the BAA’s document e book, however not within the SCDNR’s document e book.
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