An Aurora woman Monday became the third person on the Front Range to break the state’s fishing record in the last 15 months.
Jessica Walton, 20, landed a 43-pound, 6 -ounce channel catfish at the Aurora Reservoir Monday evening.
Walton, a novice who had only caught two fish up top this point in her life, used a night crawler, egg sinker and 20-pound test line for her record-breaking catch, according to a statement from the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
The catfish measured 40 inches and 4/8 in length, and had a 28 5/8-inch girth, according to the release.
It took Walton 10 minutes, and help from her boyfriend’s parents, John and Eva Clark to reel in the catch.
The previous record was a 35-pound, 8-ounce catch by Daris McKinnon also at the Aurora Reservoir on June 28.
Before McKinnon, Aurora resident Mike Stone held the record for a 35-pound catfish from the reservoir on July 26, 2009. Stone was the first of the recent three to break a 15-year record held by John McKeever for a catch at Hertha Reservoir in 1994.
Department of Wildlife aquatic biologists said in the release that recent big fish are no surprise given the species’ predator behavior, voracious appetite, and the reservoir’s large population of fish providing a food source.
In the last decade, the department has stocked more than 135,000 fish at the Aurora Reservoir including trout, bass, catfish, walleye and wiper fish.
Walton was awarded a master angler certificate and patch to recognize her record catch.
