A Missouri River fishing trip turned into the catch of a lifetime when angler Brad Hilton hauled two giant catfish into his boat during a solo outing over Independence Day weekend. By the time the battle ended, his boat carried nearly 180 extra pounds of fish, including the elusive 100-pound trophy he had chased for years. Hilton, who runs the Big River Pursuits fishing brand and documents trophy catfish adventures on social media and YouTube, shared the milestone in a Facebook post after fishing the Missouri River in Missouri. “Well, the day I’ve been waiting for finally came on America’s birthday weekend! The hundo hunt is over!” Hilton wrote. According to Hilton, he launched alone late in the evening and chose a stretch of river that immediately stood out. He called the heat “punishing,” and the bugs “ruthless,” but said, “I had a feeling something truly gigantic was lurking nearby.” Hilton’s instincts paid off almost immediately Then, only about 10 minutes into fishing the first setup, “pure chaos unleashed,” Hilton wrote, as he found himself battling a 77- and a 101-pound catfish at the same time. “After a lot of lucky breaks,” he said, he “ended with both of them in the boat” Man catches 101-pound, 77-pound catfish on Missouri River near St. Charleshttps://t.co/DXat01b9qE— FOX2now (@FOX2now) July 7, 2026 The 101-pound fish marked a personal milestone that had fueled years of effort. “The amount of blood, sweat, and tears spent hunting this hundo over the years I truly cannot put into words,” Hilton wrote. ” I’ve been dreaming of this day since I was a little kid! I am so blessed to finally have caught a fish of this size and tell the story.” Hilton’s catch is a personal best, but it misses the Missouri River record The Missouri River has earned a national reputation for producing giant blue catfish and flathead catfish. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the state’s largest rivers provide some of the best opportunities in the country to catch trophy-sized catfish, thanks to abundant habitat and decades of conservation efforts. Blue catfish can exceed 100 pounds, although fish of that size remain exceptionally rare and often require decades of growth. Most adult blue catfish weigh far less, making Hilton’s 101-pound catch an extraordinary accomplishment. And while Hilton’s 101-pound blue catfish ranks among the largest fish most anglers will ever see, it falls short of Missouri’s official rod-and-reel state record. That mark belongs to Greg Bernal, who landed a 130-pound blue catfish from the Missouri River near St. Charles in 2010. In other big-fish news, a Georgia woman fishing in Idaho recently caught a 30.5-inch brown trout from the South Fork Snake River, setting a new state record.