High-quality fishing in the freshwater streams of the Florida Panhandle is certainly no new phenomenon. The popular riverine fisheries in the northernmost reaches have long held a widespread reputation as prime angling destinations.

James Mitchell of Caryville set the state record for blue catfish on the Choctawhatchee River in 2008 with this 64 1/2-pound lunker. Photo courtesy of the Florida FWC.

However, until relatively recent times, it has always been the area's largemouth bass, big bluegills and prolific mammoth shellcrackers that served as the region's draw. Now, though, "Mr. Whiskers" can be entered as a contender as well.

While North Florida's native channel catfish population has always been a prime provider of sport and tasty table fare, the Panhandle is now home to numbers of blue and flathead catfish. These transplants are today well established in practically every locale in which their inadvertent or purposeful introduction has occurred. Blue cat and flathead sizes in this portion of the Sunshine State are fast becoming legendary as well.

In December of 1975, Tom Norman captured a 57 1/2-pound flathead catfish in the Hillsborough River, thereby establishing the state's uncertified record weight for the species. On April 9, 2004, Tommy Fowler's 49.39-pound Apalachicola River flathead became the official state record.

Then there is "Old Blue," long known in its native range as the true heavyweight of North American catfish. Though the flathead has received the lion's share of non-native North Florida catfish publicity in recent years, the blue cat has also made a name for itself.

And 64-year-old James Mitchell was no stranger to big North Florida catfish when he went fishing on the Choctawhatchee River back in August of 2008. The Washington County angler already had a pair of 40-plus-pound cats to his credit, including a whopper channel catfish taken from the same waters just a week prior.

Despite those facts, the veteran Caryville trophy catfish fancier could not have anticipated the outcome of that excursion. When he left the river, Mitchell was the new holder of Florida's state blue catfish record. It was a 64 1/2-pound behemoth he bested after a 10-minute battle.

The monster cat was taken near sundown after a slow afternoon of fishing. Mitchell, who is disabled, said he knew he had hooked a big catfish right off the bat.

Fishing a favorite spot in the Choctawhatchee near Caryville, Mitchell subdued the big blue with a stout 6-foot rod and a baitcasting reel loaded with 50-pound-test line. His bait was a hand-sized bluegill, his favorite bait and a favored prey of the big cats.

The giant blue measured 53 1/2 inches in length and was exactly 3 pounds heavier than the previous Florida record taken from Little Escambia Creek near Pensacola by Vincent Walston in 1996.

Mitchell's catch was certified as the new state record by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists Chris Paxton and Claire Mangum, who supervised the weighing of the fish on certified scales.

There are abundant theories as to how blue catfish got into North Florida waters. It is known that they were introduced into the Choctawhatchee's northern stretch in Alabama in 1993, when heavy rains broke the dam of a private lake stocked with brood fish. Most of those were believed to have been caught by local fishermen, but a few may have migrated downstream into Florida.