West Virginia dad hooks something massive while fishing, while his scared son says it’s a shark – now he could see a $20k payout

An Ohio River fishing trip took an unexpected turn when West Virginia angler Tyler Harmon hooked a 72.75-pound blue catfish, leaving his 4-year-old son wondering if his dad had somehow pulled a shark from the river. Now the record-setting catch could also qualify Harmon for a $20,000 prize.

Harmon, of Ravenswood, West Virginia, went fishing with his 4-year-old son, Walker, and his father, Rodney, on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. According to an interview Harmon gave to the West Virginia News, the three generations launched from the Ravenswood area and headed to a spot about a mile north of the boat ramp where Harmon had caught fish before.

They had been fishing for about 20 minutes when Harmon got a bite. The fish put up a roughly 20-minute fight before Harmon brought it close enough for his father to net it. “When it surfaced the first time, that’s when we all got a look at it,” Harmon told West Virginia News. “My boy started crying, he thought it was a shark.”

It was a blue catfish, and its size quickly raised another possibility.

After the battle, Harmon initially suspected it could challenge the West Virginia blue catfish record, but he needed an official weighing to know for sure. Because state officials were unavailable that night, Harmon contacted his friend Seth Rhodes, owner of D & D Bait Shop. They moved the fish to a tank with an aerator and kept it alive until a fisheries biologist could examine it the following day.

The certified measurement came in at 72.75 pounds and 48.15 inches long, according to Harmon’s account. That topped the previous West Virginia weight record for a blue catfish, a 71-pound fish caught by Michael Ramey from the Ohio River in May. After the official weigh-in, Harmon released the blue catfish back into the Ohio River.

The distinction matters because Harmon’s fish did not set the state’s blue catfish length record. That mark remains 51.49 inches, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

The catch also came with a possible financial bonus.

Harmon caught the fish using a Hellcat Rod made by Catch The Fever. The company’s state-record promotion offers a $20,000 prize in its Rod Category for qualifying state-record catches made with an eligible rod. Some catfish anglers don’t use rods at all. An outdoors influencer recently caught two giant catfish with her bare hands.

Catch The Fever’s official rules say an angler must use an eligible company rod, catch one of the listed species, obtain state certification and submit the required documentation. The rules also state that the sponsor awards $20,000 to the qualifying Rod Category winner.

Blue catfish appear on the company’s eligible species list for the Hellcat Rod Series. The rules also require the catch to occur during the promotion period and give Catch The Fever discretion to determine whether an entry satisfies the requirements. As of the latest reporting, Harmon was submitting the required documentation for consideration.