That's a BIG FISH!

Joe Butler and Raymond Wichet With 86 pound, 6 oz. Flathead.

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Gerald Butler, of Girard, provided this photo of the 1966 Kansas State Record Flathead Catfish and the men who caught it.  The men are Gerald's Father Joe Butler and his friend, Raymond Wiechert of Brazilton. 

The fish was a lunker!  It's weight, which was certified by Kansas Fish & Game, was 86.6 Lbs., 6 oz.  It was 55-1/2 inches long, and it also measured 17 inches between the eyes.  The fish was caught on a limb-line, in the Neosho River, about 2 or 3 miles south of St. Paul.  It was so large they couldn't get it into their boat, so they towed it behind the boat until they could get it to the shore.  They caught the fish on August 24, 1966, and it held the state record until the 1990's.

Jay Wiechert (Click to enlarge)

But There is More.
Tim Harmon, of St. Paul, passed the photo and story on to us from Gerald and neither of them were certain of the spelling of Raymond's last name (Wichet?).  They did know he ran a blacksmith shop in Brazilton.  After a little research I confirmed Raymond's last name as "Wiechert." 

But Raymond and Edna Weichert's son, Jay Weichert, popped up in several Google searches keyed to: the family name, "Brazilton, Kansas" and "blacksmith."  He is fairly famous in a rather macabre way.  Between 1976, and his death on September 21 of 2016, Jay Wiechert manufactured every electric chair made in the United States, and quite likely, in the world.  If you want to read more about Jay Weichert, you can follow THIS LINK:  

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