While many travel to the Sportsman’s Paradise for the lure of incredible saltwater fishing, two friends from Ohio made the trip down to partake in what they describe as the “best catfishing in the nation” found right here in Louisiana. Corey Jeffers from London, Ohio, and his friend, Christopher Minnehan of Pickerington, Ohio, traversed the Mississippi River and landed a record-breaking catfish on New Year’s Eve in the shallows of a canal’s mouth between Empire and Venice.
Jeffers, a member of the Toughest Fricke’N Rods pro staff team and a TikTok sensation known as ohiorivercatfishing with 31.8K followers, hitched up his Deep V boat and traveled to Louisiana with Minnehan a few days before New Year’s Eve. They first tried Norco with no bait, thinking they would repeat the outcome of Jeffers’ previous October trip. They purchased some chicken and pork loin and launched into the river, which left them disheartened.
Jeffers and Minnehan knew they needed a change in strategy. While getting fuel and food, many locals kept telling the pair to go to Venice if they were searching for a 100-pound catfish-catching opportunity. Jeffers looked at Minnehan and said, “Dude, we’re going to Venice.”
Simple prayer
After launching at Delta Marina, Jeffers said the catfish action did not heat up, and he and Minnehan became deflated again. Adding to the frustration, one of Jeffers’ lines went tight, but the fish swam back towards their boat and broke the line. With the pelicans flocking upon them, disappointment crept into the picture. Having turned off his TikTok Live, Jeffers took a moment to regroup and asked God to bless him and his friend with just one catfish to remember.
After powering his TikTok Live account back up and taking a moment to regain his composure, his line went tight but then retreated, leaving Jeffers with an abundance of slack as the catch swam back towards the boat. After reeling in approximately 70 feet of slack and giving a tug, Jeffers doubted whatever he had hooked was large. After reaching the side of the boat, the fish surfaced, and Jeffers realized his prayers were answered.
“It turns out he had wrapped himself in the line and floated up,” Jeffers said. “I saw his pectoral fin, which was the size of my hand!”
Jeffers and Minnehan managed the fish and a net together and landed the monstrous catfish for all to see as Jeffers was still streaming live. They attempted to weigh the catfish in the boat, but it surpassed the weight limits of the scale. Jeffers knew it was all 100 pounds, and they needed to head back to the marina to gain an accurate reading and certify the fish.
It’s a whopper
After traveling the 28 miles back to the marina, Jeffers and Minnehan laid the catch of a lifetime on the scales at the marina. They recorded a weight of over 118 pounds, but reality set in quickly when the two could not locate the certified scales needed to record the fish’s weight legitimately. Jeffers’ loyal TikTok followers, who had been part of the excitement from the beginning, even attempted to make their own calls to get the fish recorded.
Utilizing the telephone line to report poaching, Jeffers said contact was made with a Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries agent who suggested putting the fish on ice so it could be certified later.
“Catfish conservation is a part of my life,” Jeffers said. “I couldn’t kill it.”
Although Jeffers and Minnehan did not secure a place in the official record books, they recorded the weight live on TikTok for Jeffers’ followers since they had been with the group for the entire adventure. Using a 7’6″ Toughest Fricke’N Rod outfitted with a KastKing Kapstan Elite 300 spooled with 40-pound Toughest Fricke’N monofilament, Jeffers and Minnehan landed their 118.05-pound catfish measuring approximately 37 inches in girth.
Leaving Louisiana with an incredible story and a deeper appreciation for catfishing, Jeffers finds more value in the experience than the bragging rights associated with the “could have been” record. Instead, he will return to try to catch the beast again.
