From 1789 to 1797, George Washington sat as the first president of the United States of America. Prior to that, he presided the Constitutional Convention which later created the U.S. Constitution and a federal government.

Last Sunday, another George Washington was on his usual fishing trip along East Cache Creek in Lawton, Oklahoma when a giant Flathead catfish caught sight of his bait.

The 38-year-old felt a tug on his casting pole and he knew right there and then that fish won't give up that easily.

For 20 minutes, Washington and the gargantuan catfish played tug-of-war. The seasoned fisherman said in an interview with ABC News that his arms felt like they had been “lifting weights all day,” and indeed, the catfish was massive, and it had put up a massive fight.

Washington's catch was monstrous. The Flathead catfish tipped in at 60 pounds and measured four feet and one inch. It was, by far, his biggest catch, and a scratch off his bucket list considering that he fishes four to five times a week searching for Oklahoma's “lake monsters.”

“I'm searching for the monsters, that's what I fish for. So that's my goal,” Washington told KSWO.

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Catfish Pixabay

With the size of his catch, Washington wanted to know if he broke the current state record. He looked for a weighing scale to get the catfish's official weight, but all three scales broke due to the massive size of the fish.

“I put it on a 50 pound scale and it broke. So I went and put it on the ice dock and that one messed up. Then I tried a floor scale and that one malfunctioned as well,” he said.

ABC News added that Washington had to call wildlife rangers for a proper reading and was able to do so. Unfortunately, his catch missed the state record by 18 pounds.

The website added that Washington filleted the catfish and froze it for future consumption.

“You could feed five or six families,” he said.

On May 11, 2010, Richard Williams reeled in a huge 78 pound, 8 ounce Flathead catfish while bass fishing at El Reno Lake.

The fish also measured 51 inches.

The Oklahoman pointed that anglers who believe that they might have caught a record breaking fish must weigh their catch on a scale certified by the Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture, and the final weight must be verified by an official employee of the Wildlife Department.

Watch Washington's near record-breaking catch here.

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