A 10-year-old's ice fishing expedition in Connecticut has sparked a national debate over fish identification after he reeled in a 5.37-pound catch that experts can't agree on. Jacob Socha of Manchester pulled the hefty fish from a New London County lake on February 22, grabbing it by the mouth after it proved too heavy to lift with his tip-up line.

Wildlife officials initially suggested the fish could be near the state record for brown bullhead at 4.9 pounds, but online fishing communities have identified it as everything from black bullhead to channel catfish. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection ultimately believes it's a white catfish, though the American Catfishing Association and Ice Fishing Magazine disagree.

Jacob's mother Caroline Socha's Facebook posts seeking help with identification drew over 400 comments, with some anglers even bickering in the thread. A video call with DEEP fisheries biologist Andrew Bade led to the white catfish determination, though Bade noted that catfish characteristics can change with age, making identification difficult even for experts.