McClatchy Washington Bureau

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FORT WORTH, Texas -- This story may sound fishy to you, but the Smith family of Joshua has a photo to prove it.

Four-year-old Caden Smith, who weighs 40 pounds, hauled in a 45-pound flathead catfish Saturday while fishing from the banks of the Trinity River near downtown.

"He battled for his life," his uncle Dan Smith of Hurst said Wednesday.

Caden missed the record for a flathead catfish caught in the Trinity. For a junior angler, it is a 56-pounder caught in July 2004. For all ages, it is a 58-pounder caught July 21, 1977, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Still, Caden’s catch is the stuff of fish lore. The thing was as big as he is. "When they got it out, he hugged it," his mother, Natalie Smith, said.

The story had a happy ending for the fish as well: Caden threw it back in.

See the photo at Star-Telegram.com