The fish was caught on lake #3
There are a lot of big catfish at jess ranch. When i started fishing there in 2012 that was the last time they stocked catfish, but here's the secret.
In 2012 if you caught any catfish over i believe was 8 LBS (I may be wrong on this weight) you had to release it back for breeding and they would give you a free fishing pass in return. Idk know how many years this rule was going on for? I seen a 18 lb and 15 lb caught there too. The 18 lb cat was when this rule was in effect, it was caught on lake #2 and released into lake #3 maybe because it was closer to the shack where it was weighed idk??
p.s. i marked with a red arrow where i caught this fish and the 12 pounder two weeks ago, BOTH fish were RELEASED back into the lake.