Like many kids who grow up with a rod in their hands, 15-year-old Joshua Jones always wanted to catch a 100-pound fish. Two weeks ago, he made that dream a reality, reeling in a 108-pound catfish while fishing the Missouri River with his father, Joshua Jones Sr.
It had been a long night on the river and Joshua had dozed off after a big night of fishing when he felt something start tugging on his line.
"I was sleeping when the fish got on, so it kind of woke me up," Joshua Jr. told Fox 2. "And then I felt the pull and drag, which really woke me up."
A 20-minute battle ensued, with Joshua Jr. fighting the line. Joshua Sr. coached his son, letting the massive fish tire itself out before they hauled it onto the boat.
"He was determined and always told me, 'I'm going to catch a record. I want to catch a 100-pound fish,'" Joshua's father said. "And, 'boom,' it happened."
Joshua Jr.'s blue catfish tipped the scales at 108 pounds.
The Jones family has caught countless catfish in Missouri waters, but this was by far the largest they'd seen. Joshua decided to take a photo with the monstrous catfish and then released it in hopes of entering it into a contest. Joshua Jr. and his father were hoping to win a $500 reward in the Mad Katz fishing contest, but they were disqualified due to a rule violation— judges were unable to visually see the bottom of the net when the pair completed the weigh-in.
While they missed out on the prize money, Joshua Sr. stresses that it's not about catching the biggest catfish but about the connections you make while fishing.
Joshua Sr. got the fishing bug from his own father, and now he's passed that love along to his son. The two have spent countless hours on the water fishing together.
"I had him on the bank before he could walk, trying to catch bluegills," Joshua Sr. told Fox 2.
"To get out here and experience such a thing, to throw a fishing rod, big fish, small fish— a lot of times, it doesn't matter. Just love the experience itself."
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