Possibility teen's 101-pound catfish catch will lead to rule changes, new record category
If what follows sounds like a broken record, tune in to the background noise.
Widely trumpeted is that Jaylynn Parker’s 101.11-pound blue catfish, caught under a float attached to a bank line last month in the Ohio River, has been accepted as a state record under longstanding rules devised by the sanctioning Outdoor Writers of Ohio.
But insiders are quietly discussing the possibility of revising the rules. In other words, a decent chance still exists that the record book will be reconfigured when the sanctioning writers group meets in August.
Ohio's biggest blue catfish: Complaints, objections swept aside as 15-year-old girl claims record for 101-pound catfish
The addition of a category for fish caught on bank, trot and float lines is being considered, meaning Parker’s legally caught catfish could end up as a record separate from fish caught with rod and reel.
No guarantees, just talk at this stage.
The current all-tackle record category lists 42 species, all of them taken with rod and reel until Parker’s blue cat. The addition of another classification would leave Chris Rolph’s 96-pound blue taken from the Ohio River in 2009 as tops in the rod-and-reel group.
Only a few species are pursued regularly with float rigs attached to bank lines, so whether a new category can be added for all 42 species is doubtful. However, it might have to be mulled.
How much the addition of another class might alter fishing methods, if at all, remains in play. The lure of setting a record in a new float-rig division might prove to be an incentive. But a category for fish taken with a bow lists only five species, all of which arguably are more despised than prized by the angling community.
Ohio spring turkey season update
Wild turkey hunters checked 12,934 bearded birds through last Sunday, an uptick from the 12,755 taken at the same point of the Ohio spring season one year ago.
The totals include birds checked during the two-day youth hunt in mid-April and those taken during the regular hunt that began April 20 in 83 counties including central Ohio and on April 27 in five northeastern counties.
Belmont led all Ohio counties with 392 turkeys checked, followed by Monroe with 385, Tuscarawas 381, Washington 358 and Gallia 349. Licking led central Ohio counties with 219, followed by Fairfield with 72, Delaware with 65, Union 37, Franklin and Pickaway, both with 14, and Madison four.
The season runs through next Sunday in central Ohio and for another two weeks in the northeastern counties. The spring limit is a single bearded bird.
Declining numbers: Wildlife officials keeping close eye on spring turkey hunt
Dates for 2024-25 Ohio hunting seasons
Among changes approved by the eight-member Ohio Wildlife Council for the 2024-25 deer hunting season is an increase in the number of deer a hunter can take in six counties, including the central Ohio counties of Madison and Pickaway. The limit in the affected areas jumps from two to three.
Also OK'd was an Ohio Division of Wildlife proposal to extend the use of deer management permits through the bonus gun weekend, which also covers gun week.
Deer archery season begins Sept. 28 and runs through Feb. 2, 2025. The youth deer gun weekend is scheduled for Nov. 16-17, and statewide gun hunting is slated for Dec. 2-8 and Dec. 21-22. The muzzleloader season runs Jan. 4-7, 2025.
The Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance area, which previously covered Hardin, Marion and Wyandot counties, was extended to include two townships in Allen County.
Wild turkey hunting will be open in 70 counties from Oct. 1-27 with a season limit of one bird.
A single ruffed grouse may be taken daily from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1 in 17 southern and eastern counties.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jaylynn Parker's 101-pound catfish stirs debate over rules for records
