Kentucky man pulls huge catfish out of flooded yard

Fishermen have been known to tell tales about catching a big one, but a Kentucky man has some proof.

In Shepherdsville, located south of Louisville, Robert Watkins pulled a huge catfish out of the flooded waters that have been plaguing the Ohio River basin. According to Louisville Patch, when the Salt River in Bullitt County overflowed, Watkins, a constable in the county's first district, was ready.

Watkins lives next to the Salt River Bridge, and the water level has risen so high that his yard is completely flooded, WDRB reported.

"Anytime the river gets up to where it's at, we'll go out -- me and a buddy of mine will go out in it -- and we'll set limb lines," Watkins told WDRB. "We'll hang lines out of the tree. Then we'll give it four or five hours, and go back and run 'em and see what we got. Normally, the Salt River is good for them big cat(fish)…we'll do it every time the river gets up."

Chris Fegett snapped photos of Watkins with the catfish and posted them on Facebook to prove that Sunday's catch was not just a fish tale, WLKY reported.

The water levels in Shepherdsville were at their highest on Sunday, WLKY reported.

The Facebook post has been shared more than 64,000 times.

Fegett estimated that the catfish weighed close to 40 pounds, but Watkins said it was more than 50 pounds and possibly as much as 60.

"That scale we had wasn't no good," Watkins told WDRB. "We had a 50-pound digital scale from Walmart, but it just -- it maxed out. It wouldn't go no higher."

We’ll never know for sure. Fegett said Watkins let the catfish go.

The fish had been tied to Watkins’ porch, WDRB reported, but there had never been plans for a fish fry.

"We don't eat none of them big ones," Watkins told WDRB.

Meanwhile, Watkins’ daughter, Heather Watkins Colvin, posted photos of her father’s home, ruefully noting that it “Doesn’t look like we’ll be getting in Dad’s pool anytime soon.”

About the Author