Danny Mayer holding the 121.1-pound Kansas state-record blue
catfish he caught in May near downtown Kansas City
Another state record for Missouri River
By Brent Frazee
Danny Mayer’s idea of paradise looks a lot different than yours.
You won’t find pristine water, stunning scenery or waterfront resorts where he fishes. But make no mistake, the Missouri River is heaven for guys like Mayer who dream of catching trophy blue catfish.
“Even as a kid, I knew there were some monsters in there,” said Mayer, 44, who lives in Agency, Missouri. “Every time our car crossed the river, I dreamed of the day when I would be able to catch one of those fish.”
That day has arrived. Mayer has become an accomplished big-game hunter, catching numerous blue cats exceeding 50 pounds. But he outdid himself on May 15 when he set out by himself to practice for a tournament.
The day started slowly when Mayer failed to get a fish in the first several hours of the trip. But it picked up when he changed locations and bait.
“I started off using frozen skipjack, and they just weren’t biting,” Mayer said. “But I decided to switch bait and use something fresh. I caught a few common carp and cut them into chunks, and the action really picked up.”
Mayer caught and released a couple of 15- to 20-pound blue catfish, then one that weighed 40 pounds. But the best was still to come.
Fishing a spot within sight of Kansas City’s skyline at dusk, he felt a monstrous hit. Ten minutes later, he landed the biggest catfish he has ever caught.
That giant weighed 121.1 pounds and measured 59.75 inches in length. That fish set the Kansas state record for blue catfish by 18.3 pounds, adding to the Missouri River’s lore. The previous record, caught in 2012, was also landed on the Kansas side of the Missouri River.
Fishing alone, Mayer struggled to get the blue cat in the boat. The first time he attempted to lift the net, he staggered and almost fell into the river. He collected himself and braced for another try and succeeded by flopping it over the side of his craft.
Only then did Mayer know just how big of a river monster he had.
He immediately began calling around to find a place with certified scales that was still open and a fisheries official with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to witness the weighing. But he couldn’t find anyone until the next morning, so he had to babysit his catch until then.
Much to his chagrin, the blue cat died in the early hours of the morning. He weighed the fish later that morning at a lawn care business.
When the fish died, Mayer missed out on a big bonus. He used a Big Cat Fever rod to catch the giant fish. That company offers a $20,000 bonus to the angler who catches a state record using one of its products. But that payout only applies if the fish was released, alive and well.
“I was extremely upset that this fish died under my care,” he said. “I release all the big fish I catch, and this is the first time that happened to me. I have an 80-gallon livewell on my boat, and I’ve kept big fish alive for 8 to hours. But this one didn’t make it.”
Mayer has caught giant blue catfish before. He caught and released one fish weighing 89 pounds and another registering 85 pounds. In the first tournament of the 2025 schedule, he caught and released a blue catfish that weighed 81 pounds.
The key to his success? Putting in plenty of time on the water, he said.
“Fish like this don’t come along very often,” he said. “You have to be patient and cover a lot of water.”
But big blue catfish are still roaming the Missouri River, and in multiple states. Earlier this spring, Mayer watched a fishing partner land a 99-pound blue catfish in the portion of the Missouri that passes through Nebraska. That fish was less than two pounds off the state record.
Are there bigger ones out there? Mayer thinks so. But those record catches won’t come easily.
“People see a photo of someone with a big catfish, and they say, I want to do that,“ he said. “But they don’t realize all that goes into it.
“There are still some big blue cats in the Missouri, but you have to put in some time on the water to catch one.”
(Brent Frazee is an award-winning writer and photographer from Parkville, Mo. He was the outdoors editor for The Kansas City Star for 36 years before retiring in 2016. He continues to freelance for magazines, websites, newspapers and tourism outlets. He and his wife Jana and their two yellow labs, Millie and Maggie, live on a private lake near Kansas City.)
