McClatchy Washington Bureau

HENDERSON, N.C. -- It took Nick Anderson 45 minutes to reel in the monster catfish he snagged at Kerr Lake, a 143-pound prize that will likely notch a new world record.

Wrestling with the whiskered beast left Anderson with a sore back - and it's no wonder, considering a fish that big weighs as much as a baby giraffe, a moped or a Japanese wrestler named Takuya Sugi.

The record isn't official, but if Anderson captures the record, he will have shattered the old mark for blue catfish, easily passing the 130-pound whopper pulled out of the Missouri River last year.

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