Potential NC record blue catfish makes for volunteer fire department donation
Joey Baird is a police officer in southern Virginia. He wants to use his win money to buy a boat to help Brunswick County, Va.
Posted — UpdatedThe sun had sunk, immersing Lake Gaston in darkness. Midnight was approaching. That's when the beast began to bite.
"First fish of the night, actually," said Joey Baird.
Not just any fish, but that leviathan of American lakes and rivers: the blue catfish.
The line peeled off the reel.
"The rod came sideways down the edge of the boat."
Baird and his fishing buddy wrestled the fish from bow to stern.
"He was wrapped around the anchor. I actually pulled the fish up with the anchor," said Baird. "That fish has got to be over a hundred pounds."
With the bewhiskered behemoth in the boat, their mission now was to get it weighed and, above all, keep it alive. But the marinas were closed.
"It was a long process. We worked hard. It was probably a 16-, 17-hour process throughout the whole thing."
They tied the fish to a dock until they could get a big enough tub and haul it to a state-certified scale.
"That is a state record! I don't care what you say, that's a record!" Baird said.
The scale tipped at 121 pounds, 9 ounces.
The previous North Carolina record blue catfish was 117 pounds.
A state wildlife biologist inspected the catch and verified the weight.
And then, Baird set it free.
But instead of keeping the money, Baird and his buddy are donating it all to the Gasburg Volunteer Fire Department, where he's a member.
"This is my home," Baird said.
During Hurricane Michael two years ago, he nearly drowned while rescuing a driver trapped by floodwaters.
"If we ever have that situation again, to kind of cut down on response time, [it would help] that we have our own rescue boat for the county," he said.
So, the money will go to buying a boat.
His wife's daily devotional cinched the decision.
"That devotional scripture talked about floodwaters. It makes you stop and think and realize He's in control, the good Lord is in control," he said. "He had his hand on me and everyone else that day in that water."
But his fish, his fish did not survive.
Three days after its release, someone found its carcass.
"That's a hard thing to hear. It kind of knocks you down," Baird said.
It's the memory he clings to and the peace that comes from the lake he loves.
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