Record West Virginia blue catfish broken fourth year in a row

GALLIPOLIS FERRY, W.Va. — For the fourth year in a row, the West Virginia state record for the largest blue catfish by weight has been broken.

According to the W.Va. Division of National Resources, Michael John Drake of Saint Albans, West Virginia, caught and released a blue catfish that weighed 69.45 pounds and measured 50.51 inches.

Drake was fishing using cut shad from his fishing boat on the Robert C. Byrd Pool of the Ohio River on December 8 when he caught the record fish, which state hatchery manager Ryan Bosserman measured.

Steven Price held the previous record blue catfish of 67.22 pounds…