A Southaven man recently caught a world record longnose gar below the Sardis Lake spillway. “I was catfishing at the time,” said Don Henson of Southaven. “I normally catch big catfish like 25 pounds or so. I catch them pretty often.”
Henson said he was using a 3-inch whole shad about 12 feet below a cork. As it drifted in the current, he got a bite.
“My bobber went under and the fight was on,” Henson said. “I thought I had the biggest catfish in the world.
“It was a big fish and kept pulling down. I thought it was going to pop my line, but he didn’t.”
Henson didn’t have the biggest catfish in the world, but he did have a huge longnose gar. It measured 60 inches long and weighed 48 pounds, 1 ounce. He contacted the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks and the gar was certified as a new state record. When MDWFP officials did a check with the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum, they found it was also a world record. According to MDWFP, the fish was recently certified as the world record by the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.
World record fish often find themselves hanging on a wall. This one, however, had a different destiny.
“My wife asked me about that,” Henson said. “I said, ‘It’s too big for a wall.’ That’s a big fish — a really big fish.”
So, Henson did what he often does. He filleted it and gave the meat to friends.
“They were excited to get that fish,” Henson said. “They devoured it.”