Jake Robinson of Shakopee, Minn. recently tied his own catch-and-release record he set last June when he caught a 49-inch flathead catfish on 100-pound-test line.

Robinson was fishing the Minnesta River near Savage. The fish had a girth of 33 1/2 inches, identical to his previous record-fish caught on June 7, 2016. Because of different markings found on the ’16 and ’17 fish, they appear to be distinct.

“I have 11 years of targeting flathead cats, and suggest to new anglers to stay on the move every 20 minutes if you don’t get a bite,” Robinson said.

Minnesota has two kinds of state records: one for catching and keeping the biggest fish in each species based on certified weight and for length of a caught-and-released muskellunge, lake sturgeon or flathead catfish. You can find current records and guidelines for each type of state record at mndnr.gov/recordfish. For more on this news and other MWO posts, visit our Facebook page.