Rock Hill fishermen catch record-breaking catfish in Catawba River

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Call it a fat cat or a big fish, but a record-setting catfish was recently snagged by two fishermen from Rock Hill.

Destin Fox and Ryan Williams were fishing on Lake Wateree when Fox, 15, caught a 94-pound blue catfish. Records say that’s the biggest catfish ever found in the Catawba Wateree River Basin.

Channel 9′s Tina Terry learned that Fox and Williams released the big fish back into the water for someone else to catch. It’s got room to grow, too -- researchers say blue catfish can reach more than 100 pounds in weight at their largest.

The catch isn’t the biggest in the entire state, though.

SEE IT: North Carolina man reels in record-setting 127-pound blue catfish

According to South Carolina Wildlife, the largest blue catfish on record in the state was caught in 2017 on Lake Moultrie, weighing 113.8 pounds. North Carolina’s biggest blue catfish was a whopping 127 pounds, and it was caught in 2021 in the Roanoke River.

(WATCH: Fisherman pulls massive catfish out of Lake Norman)