The 131-pound fish "shattered" the previous rod and reel record of a 95-pound catfish, caught by Dakota Hinson in 2009. According to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Fisheries Bureau, the record-setting fish caught by Hinson, Cronley and the trophy record 101 pound blue catfish caught in 1997 by Freddie Parker and Brad Smith were all caught in the same part of the Mississippi River near Natchez.