James Pruitt figured he had caught a big fish when he checked his trotline in the Trinity River last weekend. He just didn’t know how big.

“Yeah, it’s a big one,” said Pruitt, who got some help on the excursion from his 6-year-old cousin and fishing buddy, Destin Noack. “I’m ready to catch another one now.”

The big fish, it turns out, was a 76-pound yellow (flathead) catfish. And it almost sank his 16-foot boat.

“It took about 30 minutes to pull it in,” said Pruitt, who lives in Simmons Bottom, located off County Road 2328 just north of Kenefick. “He was pulling harder than me.”

Pruitt is not sure if it’s a record catch, but it’s definitely the biggest fish he’s snagged, he said.

Pruitt’s luck continued late Thursday, when he hauled in a 45-pound catfish from the Trinity River. “I took it and skinned it for my neighbor,” he said.

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