“I like to eat ’em” | Bridgeville man breaks blue catfish record in Delaware

BRIDGEVILLE, Del. – For the second time in less than a month, a Bridgeville resident has broken the blue catfish record in Delaware.

Sydney McBroom caught the big cat fishing from his boat, using a whole bluegill as bait and landing it after a 20-minute wrestling match. Just 20 days ago, that same record was broken by another Bridgeville man, Chris Andrews.

The record breaking fish weighed in at a whopping 53-pounds and measured 46.5 inches in length.

47 ABC News spoke to McBroom who said he was just out there hoping to catch that night’s dinner, but what he got was a big surprise.

“I like to eat ’em,” McBroom said. “I was out there more or less fishing for something to eat.”

At first, McBroom says he didn’t believe it was a record breaking catch, but after reeling the monster of a catfish in, the size of it started to sink in.

“My cousin looked at me and said, ‘that’s a Delaware state record,’ and I didn’t really believe it to start with,” McBroom explained. “Then when we started taking it out of the water, it was definitely apparent that it was large.”

McBroom had the following advice for anglers aspiring to break the record: “big bait, big hooks, and patience.”

The three most recent blue catfish state records were caught from the fertile catfishing waters of the Nanticoke.

McBroom’s record catch was certified by Cpl. Kyle Wharton, Delaware Natural Resources Fish and Wildlife Police, at Lewes Harbour Marina in Lewes. His blue catfish catch shattered Andrews’ state record caught Sept. 2 by more than 4.5 pounds after he surpassed the previous record (set in April 2022) by four ounces.