Belleville angler gets a 46-pound blue catfish

Aaron Bergmann has been singing the Kaskaskia River Blues ever since Friday night.

That's when the Belleville man and his fishing buddy, Adam Rhein, also of Belleville, hooked a 46-pound blue catfish Friday on the lower Kaskaskia.

"We put out trotlines with live bluegill for bait," Bergmann said. "We came back to check them and ... there he was.

"When we first saw him, we didn't know what to do. He wouldn't fit into our net."

So they grabbed hold and wrestled the 4-foot-long-plus fish on board their boat.

"It's the biggest fish I ever caught," said Bergmann, 20, who works at Goodall Tire Co. "But I know the big blues are out there."

Bergmann, Rhein and their friends Chris Ballard, Justin Schmidt and Josh Luetkemeyer, all of Belleville, had gone fishing on the lower Kaskaskia ("I can't tell you exactly our spot") the last two weekends. They also caught a 22-pound blue, a 13-pounder and several more under 10 pounds.

The good news is that big ol' blue is still out there.

"We weighed him, snapped a few pictures and let him go."