June 30, 2009 Kansas woman catches giant fish Play video

(NECN/ABC)- Rebecca Harris and her family spend a lot of time at the Hutchinson Water Sports Club, a private lake south of Burrton. Sunday morning, Rebecca saw a large fish swimming near their dock." I think it was old and wasn't feeling that well," she says. She grabbed the fish, and then realizing how big it was, called for a neighbor's help to get it out of the water. Neighbors told her she might have a state record catch and to contact Kansas Wildlife and Parks to verify it. Fisheries biologist John Stein says Rebecca caught a buffalo fish weighing just under 60 pounds. Stein says it would be a record for the state fishing book, but because Rebecca caught it with a net, it doesn't count." To qualify for a state record it has to be landed with a fishing rod and reel. It can't be landed with a net. It has to be caught with a hook in its mouth." Even so, Stein says this fish is one to talk about." But it's still a very interesting fish. It's a very large fish. I've never seen one that big," Stein says.