Fishing Forum

With the forecast for rain to be moving in, I thought that today might be a good day to fish. Great temps, little wind, perfect water flow.<br /><br />I caught ONE fish. Didn't see another caught by anyone.<br /><br />BUT WHAT A FISH!<br /><br />When it hit, I thought "great fish!", but then I started to wonder if I had hung up in a commercial net - a little give, but no movement. It took a minute or so for the fish to realize that all was not well (it had failed to heed the warning: Beware the Ides of March). For about 15 minutes this fish went wherever it wanted - and I was using 80 lb test line! I just leaned back on the rod and let it take line against the drag. Every time it slowed, I pumped it up out of the 50' depth until it decided to run again. It was really fun to watch the giant sonar image come up 20 feet and then dive for the bottom again and again. I wish I had thought to take a picture of it. I could tell that this fish was one of the biggest I had ever hooked. It wasn't fast, just really really strong. I got it to the surface eventually for that first look, and although it wasn't exceptionally long, it had a huge girth - bigger than any cat I have caught. We played tug-of-war for a while, and every time I saw the fish it looked bigger. When I finally got it into the net, it was all I could do to drag it over the rail.<br /><br />I ran over to two other boats that were fishing together and got them to help. They thought I was kidding at first, until they saw the cat. It took two of them suspending the netted fish (on a wooden shovel handle) to weigh the blue cat while I took pics. 83 lbs!! As hard as I tried, I simply couldn't lift the fish for some pics , so I got down on the floor with it instead, but the pictures they took just do not do this monster justice. It was only 48 inches long, but had the largest girth of any catfish I had ever caught!!!<br /><br /><br />I called the Tennessee Aquarium to see if they needed another big cat (I already have one there) but they couldn't use it. One of the other fishermen wanted to take it home to his pond, but then I saw that he really didn't have a way to keep the fish alive and healthy, so I nicely talked him out of it. I thought he was going to die watching me release it, but it was what I wanted to do. They took a pic just as I released it - what a hole in the water it made!!<br /><br />I am submitting this catch to the IGFA for the World 80 lb Line Class Record, which currently stands at 80 pounds; 3 pounds less than this fish. I have been trying to set this record for a number of years, ever since setting the 130 lb class with an 84 lb blue cat. It takes a lot of paperwork and there are very specific rules to follow, but it is well worth it when it finally happens. I haven't checked, but I think this is my 22nd IGFA record.<br /><br />Here are the pics: