A world record catfish becomes just a near-miss for Missouri. Alton, Illinois fisherman Tim Pruitt recently hauled a 124-pound blue catfish out of the Mississippi River near St. Louis. After a 45-minute fight, the monster Pruitt hauled out beat the world record by more than two pounds, beat the Illinois record by nearly 40 pounds, but won’t count as topping the Missouri state record of 103 pounds. Why? Well, Missouri Conservation Department Spokesman Jim Low says the fish was caught on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, even though it might have spent its life fattening up on Missouri’s bounty. But Low says there are probably other Missouri records out there. Pruitt promises he’ll be pursuing those as well and might even catch it on this side of the river next time.