New North Carolina Channel Cat Record Book Fish Was Caught In 1970

March 22, 2009

E.J. Bowden & 5-year-old son, Louis 23-pound, 4-ounce channel catfish caught in 1970 NCWRC

In what can only be described as a bizarre story a previous recognized fish has return to the top spot. E.J. Bowden of Rocky Mount now has the top spot nearly 40 years after he caught the 23 lb 4 oz channel cat.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission did not assume the responsibility for managing the record book until 1971 where at the time a misidentified flat head catfish was occupying the top spot for channel cat. A 2005 magazine cover featuring the “record cat” was what helped push the erroneous fish out but left the top spot empty.

As a result, the NCWRC put the vacated record for channel catfish up for grabs. In the four years that followed, the state record for channel catfish was broken three times with the most recent record holder, David Haynes, gaining notoriety for catching a 21-pound channel catfish with a Barbie Doll fishing outfit in August 2008.

The Dispatch

The Barbie Fishing Pole Story was hot and lots of people heard it including E.J. Bowden who had to wonder about the 23 lb 4oz fish he caught in 1970.

After seeing the media coverage about the various channel catfish state records being broken, Bowden contacted the N.C. Division of Inland Fisheries, which oversees the State Record Fish Program, and advised staff that the fish he caught way back in 1970 outweighed Hayes’ record breaker by more than two pounds. He even had a write-up accompanied by a picture from the Sept. 6, 1970 issue of the Rocky Mount Telegram to prove it.
He sent in the paperwork that he had kept all these years, which, along with the Rocky Mount Telegram article, included a Xeroxed copy of the original photograph, a state record certificate, and an excerpt from a 1971 Freshwater Fishing and Hunting in North Carolina atlas, listing all of the freshwater fish state record holders of the day, including Bowden.
After carefully reviewing the stack of documents and the photograph of the fish, Kent Nelson, fisheries program manager with the Commission, agreed with Bowden. He was still the official holder of the channel catfish state record in North Carolina.
Nelson said the Wildlife Commission had no state record channel catfish paperwork prior to Paine’s 1971 record, which is why the agency vacated the record in May 2005.
Without Bowden’s picture and accompanying paperwork, there would have been no way anyone would have known he was still the record holder. The fish itself was long gone, although Bowden said he kept it on ice for about 10 years, hoping to have it mounted one day. That day never came, so he left it in the woods for animals to consume.

North Carolina Sportsman

This is one whale of a tale fish story but it’s good to see Mr. Bowden get the recognition he deserves after all these years. How long will the record stand? Who knows but with the growing popularity of catfish in this state it might get broken in the next few years. I’ll go out on a limb and say it won’t be on a Barbie Rod.