{"id":24075,"date":"2026-08-01T09:11:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T04:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=24075"},"modified":"2026-08-01T09:11:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T04:11:29","slug":"massive-scale-breaking-catfish-caught-in-southern-california-lake-catzilla-still-on-the-loose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=24075","title":{"rendered":"Massive &#8216;scale-breaking&#8217; catfish caught in Southern California lake; &#8216;Catzilla&#8217; still on the loose"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/877a37a\/2147483647\/strip\/false\/crop\/3024x2613+0+0\/resize\/1500x1296!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff5%2Ff4%2F6072ae904d6bbdab0bc8cfa2f05e%2Fcatfish.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div data-element=\"story-body\" data-subscriber-content=\"\">\n<p>A normally serene lake in the high desert region of San Bernardino County is buzzing this week with news that a scale-breaking fish was recently landed, and another monster fish, known to locals as \u201cCatzilla,\u201d still lurks in the lake\u2019s dark depths.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, Javier Fuentes wok<b>e<\/b> up at 4:30 a.m. to prep for an all-day fishing excursion at Hesperia Lake Park, which opens to anglers at 6 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>Fuentes, a construction worker, is a dedicated angler who often spends his days off reeling in fish from the lake and then turning over his catch to his wife for cleaning and preparing for dinner. \u201cThey\u2019re a team,\u201d said Carla Prieto, Fuentes\u2019 daughter-in-law. <\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s caught large fish before, Prieto said, but on Sunday Fuentes managed to reel in a 30-pound catfish that \u201cliterally broke the scale.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In the <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HesperiaLakePark\/posts\/pfbid0AvN8L3mV4yiRnXrWZQgZvTq1ov22L7Y3L5GaS18k6adAjLdMokVMjaV8wGo8P8zsl\" target=\"_blank\">Hesperia Recreation and Park District\u2019s Facebook post<\/a>, Fuentes is seen grinning while gripping his landing net that can\u2019t contain the massive catfish \u2014 the fish\u2019s tail end is shown dangling out of the net. <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/wildlife.ca.gov\/Fishing\/Records\" target=\"_blank\">The state records<\/a> for catfish range from 22 pounds to 113 pounds, depending on the species. But it has been decades since any of those records were set.<\/p>\n<p>Prieto wasn\u2019t entirely surprised her father-in-law landed the 30-pounder because she said he\u2019s very dedicated to the sport. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s literally about 20 to 30 catfish from the lake in the freezer,\u201d she said. \u201cThis guy is all about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When he came home with the monster catfish on Sunday, Prieto said she heard her mother-in-law\u2019s exclaiming, \u201cHe caught a big fish,\u201d before she laid eyes on the scaly creature. <\/p>\n<p>While Fuetes\u2019 prize fish represents the lake\u2019s biggest catch in some time, legend has it that the lake is home to an even larger counterpart: a 50-pound catfish dubbed \u201cCatzilla,\u201d which was caught but escaped days later. <\/p>\n<p>The behemoth fish was hooked on Thursday by local fisherman Justin Broussard after an \u201cunforgettable battle that had nearby anglers watching in amazement,\u201d district officials said.<\/p>\n<p>When Broussard and his friend attempted to put Catzilla into the fishing basket, with the intention of then releasing it, the 50-pounder violently thrashed and slipped free. <\/p>\n<p>The two massive catfish have energized the fishing community at the lake, said Robert Hernandez, general manager of the park district. <\/p>\n<p>Hesperia lacks the widely available activities found in an urban center, so when monstrous fish are caught in the local lake, \u201cit picks up traction pretty quickly,\u201d Hernandez said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised if we get some people that are not fisherman and get out there just trying to see if they can catch [Catzilla],\u201d he added. <\/p>\n<p>The excitement surrounding the lake is a huge win for the district and the fishing community after Hesperia Lake Park closed for three months at the start of the year, he said.<\/p>\n<p>A <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-12-26\/southern-california-wettest-christmas-extreme-weather-swings\">downpour on Christmas Day<\/a> caused severe damage to the recreational area, including significant flooding and washouts prompting a massive cleanup. <\/p>\n<p>Once the cleanup was completed, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/hesperiaparks.gov\/hesperia-lake-reopens-for-fishing\/\" target=\"_blank\">the district reopened the lake<\/a> in April and stocked it with 2,000 pounds of trout and 500 pounds of lightning trout. But, for now, the catfish are the big draw.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A normally serene lake in the high desert region of San Bernardino County is buzzing this week with news that a scale-breaking fish was recently landed, and another monster fish, known to locals as \u201cCatzilla,\u201d still lurks in the lake\u2019s dark depths. On Sunday, Javier Fuentes woke up at 4:30 a.m. to prep for an&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/e8038c8\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3024x1588+0+513\/resize\/1200x630!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff5%2Ff4%2F6072ae904d6bbdab0bc8cfa2f05e%2Fcatfish.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}