© 2026 ABC News

While the scale read 88 pounds, Smith believes the catfish weighed closer to 92 pounds, but its tail was hanging off the boat and a portion of his body was resting on her husband's leg, which may have taken some weight off, she said.

The monstrous fish wasn't a fluke for Smith. Her previous record was an 82-pound catfish she caught in the spring of 2018 on Duck River, which feeds into the Tennessee River.

While Smith was baffled by the attention she received on social media, she understands that \"most people don't catch fish that big in their lifetime,\" she said. But, she described herself as \"pretty consistent\" with her catches, adding that she typically catches a large catfish every week -- on average about 30 pounds.

Smith and her husband, both in their early 50s, often fish together, but Smith is the true angler, she said, adding that her husband, a game warden for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency in Humphreys County, doesn't have as flexible a schedule as she does with her three-day-a-week nursing schedule.

An avid fisherwoman, Smith has participated in a few tournaments, she said. Her best so far was a few weeks ago when she came in third place for a 30 or 40-pound Blue cat. She has another one coming up in Bumpus Mills, Tennessee, about an hour's drive from her home, on Jan. 12, she said.

What Smith likes most about fishing is the \"adrenaline rush,\" she said.

\"The thrill of seeing your pole go down, and then trying to get it in the boat without breaking or snapping the line -- it's unbelievable,\" she said. \"It's the most awesome feeling in the world.\"

\"PHOTO:
Ken Smith
PHOTO: Paula Cathey Smith caught an 88-pound catfish in the Tennessee River, Dec. 30, 2018, before releasing it back in the water.
>

Smith said she made a goal last year to catch a 100-pound catfish and that \"it's just a matter of time\" before she beats the state record, a lofty goal she's willing to chase.

The largest Blue catfish to ever be caught in the state of Tennessee was a 130-pounder on the Fort Loudoun Reservoir in the eastern part of the state, Lee Wilmot, wildlife information specialist for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, told ABC News.

\"I will fish until I do it,\" she said.

Ken Smith said in a statement through the TWRA that his wife's most recent catch was a fitting conclusion to \"an outstanding year\" of fishing.

Smith said that while her husband is \"fixin' to retire,\" she can't wait to retire herself so she can just \"fish, fish, fish.\"

\"I want to win tournaments,\" she said. \"I want to win big games. I want to draw attention to this sport. I want to make it big. I'd like to get women involved, and kids.\"

And it seems like fishing runs in the family. Smith's grandsons, Hayden, 7, and Jace, 3, have already picked up the sport. Hayden even won a trophy for catching the most fish at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's annual rodeo two years ago, and Jace has claimed his grandmother's fishing boat as his own, Smith said.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/US/put-heck-fight-woman-catches-88-pound-blue/story?id=60150132","legacySlug":"/news/story/put-heck-fight-woman-catches-88-pound-blue-60150132","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"03:41","publishDate":"01-04-2019","updatedTime":"22:47","updatedDate":"01-07-2019","socialImage":{"alt":"Paula Cathey Smith caught an 88-pound catfish in the Tennessee River, Dec. 30, 2018, before releasing it back in the water.","credit":"Ken Smith","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/large-catfish-01-ht-jef-190103_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"1/4/2019 03:41:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":60150132,"headline":"Woman poses with 88-pound Blue catfish she caught","mediaAssetTitle":"jacobo_88 pound catfish_190103","description":"Paula Cathey Smith typically catches a 30-pound catfish every week, she said.","duration":"4:00","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/01/190104_vod_live_headlines_11p_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132488083","132306053","132266872"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 29, 2026","headline":"Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","section":"News","slug":"/video/132488083","id":"132488083","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 23, 2026","headline":"Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","section":"News","slug":"/video/132306053","id":"132306053","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 22, 2026","headline":"Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","section":"News","slug":"/video/132266872","id":"132266872","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Woman poses with 88-pound Blue catfish she caught","description":"Paula Cathey Smith typically catches a 30-pound catfish every week, she said.","duration":"4:00","uploadDate":"01-04-2019","publication":"01-04-2019","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/01/190104_vod_live_headlines_11p_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/01/190104_vod_live_headlines_11p_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/put-heck-fight-woman-catches-88-pound-blue-60150132"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132748964","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132636882","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132747869","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132738086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132714218","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132701634","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132706335","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132675442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132665875","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132628890","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Woman poses with 88-pound Blue catfish she caught","pubTime":"22:41","pubDate":"01-03-2019","modTime":"17:47","modDate":"01-07-2019","taxonomyTags":"none","id":60150132,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Woman poses with 88-pound Blue catfish she caught","mediaAssetTitle":"jacobo_88 pound catfish_190103","videoId":60150132,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/put-heck-fight-woman-catches-88-pound-blue-60150132"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/60150132","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/60150132","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};