Sharing the fun part II

[katfish]

I recently took one of the guys that work for me catfishing.

I think he didn't do to bad considering this is his first flathead[]



This little girl weighed 46 pounds and my buddy released her after this photo.

My friends are learning the secrets of big cats and are anxiuos to teach their children. I hope I am teaching the importance of releaseing these rare fish to sustain the fishery we enjoy.
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[davetclown]

good job

ya I'm prety sure that I would let that one go to, I love a pan fryed catfish dinner as much if not more than the next guy, but that my frend is more catfish than I can eat in a year.

keep them pics commin
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[lou]

i guess not. that,s cool!
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[theangler]

SWEET Looking Flat Head!!

Hey KatFish,

If you ever run out of volunteers to fish with you, let me know, my arm could be twisted!!

Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen someone more consitently on the HUGE cats, great that your passing the torch as well!
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[lou]

SHARIN IS COOL!!![cool] HAHA WOW THOSE CATFISH ARE HUGE. I,VE NEVER SEEN HORN POUT THAT BIG! MUST FIGHT GOOD HUH? TAKES YA QUITE AWILE TO GIT EM IN? THANKS FOR THE PHOTO,S DAVE. MARE[sly] LATER
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[theangler]

Hello KatFish,

Another Big Dawg!!! I've probably said it before but I've never seen anyone as consistently on those monster Kats as you!! Great Photo!!!
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[lonehunter]

wow , thems some big ones ! what did you guys use for bait ? the biggest cat i NEVER caught was about half that size . i saw it wollowing in some reeds , made the cast and about ten minutes later it took the bait , my line , and part of the pole ( not to mention some of my pride )! i've heard of some down that way that go over 100 lbs . is that true or a fishermans story ?
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[katfish]

Allan

There are catfish in the US that exceed 100 pounds. The current record on rod and reel is a Kansas flathead of 124 pounds. The circumstances of the catch are very suspicious.

Several blue cats exceeding 100 pounds have been caught in recent years. Most have come along the Cumberland/Tennessee river system.

Virgil Agee from Missouri has caught 3 blue cats from the Osage river that are over 100 pounds.

I have caught sevral flatheads over 50 pounds. My partner and I have caught 4 flatheads over 60 pounds. My largest at 66 pounds is still 10 pounds below the Ohio record flathead.

Flatheads are predators so we use live baits for them. Here is an example of a bait rigged to fish in rivers.



When fishing in lakes we rig a bit different.



When people decide to fish for trophy cats I encourage them to prepare to fight and land the biggest fish in their waters. Part of the fun of fishing is that you never know what will happen next.[]
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[lonehunter]

is that a shad ? were not allowed to use gold fish up here , but a big succer minnow will do i guess . i'll try that over here in ross lale this summer . thanks for the tip !
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[theangler]

Hello KatFish,

We are not able to use either of the baits you show what do you reccomend in states that have pretty strict regs against using many live baits for those big Kats. Do you know Virgil? Are you fishing the U.S. Cats Tourney's?
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[katfish]

I will tell you this. Lakes and rivers are not like the human World. A flathead cannot pick and choose what he eats. Any live bait that it comes across and can fit in his mouth is a meal.

I choose the baits I use by trying different baits and then using what the flatheads seem to prefer. The flathead chasers in the small rivers in Ohio reported catching flatheads on pieces of cut bait.

Mike

I e-mail Ginny Agee periodically to see if Virgil fishes for the big blues during winter.

I do not fish tournaments. I do go fishing at every opportunity and I pursue the very biggest fish in Ohio. I will fish some Ohio tournaments this year because I want to make Fishnasty's money my money[]

He is proud of himself for taking money from saugeye fishermen at catfish tournaments.

My best advice would be to seek out your areas best flathead fishermen and study their techniques. This would give you a great starting place to develope what works best in your area.
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[lou]

my lord guys i have never in my life seen catfish hornpout like them!!! we got maybe 5 8 lb,s in my pond maybe but in the connecticut there,s probably big ones never seen or heard of any of my guys ctchin em that big even a 50 lb, they don,t./ but i bet there,s some there but 100 lbs i don,t know. i know there big muskies pickeral walleyes perch, these just take the cake.!! haah my uncle use to go to lake champlain.catch big hornpout maybe it was 30lbs. i was only 10-12 when i member him makin me hiold it and he froze it and it was thawin out and didit stink made me hold it to take a stupid picture. he froze it and didn,t even clean it! grose! [] i bet ya have fun. we catch em on nitecrawlers here thoug. have fun![]my small ones. i tried eatin one last year weren,t too bad they were about 13 inches
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[lou]

[cool]don,t blame ya ahha god it,s beautiful here today! 40 and the icles are meltin haha love it maybe i,ll git to go coyote huntin this stays like this!! haha would ya catch em under ice? magine right? they should still bite lite but they,ll bite hhuh/ guess the guys are still catchin good pickeral perch out the ice still here. should be over in plymouth they,ll be catchin some good rainbows and be able to keep them soon. haven,t gone over to see yet but will this weekend though. go bull with all the guys like i use ta. like it. take care have fun catch some good ones guys will be thinkin of ya haha mare.[][cool]
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[lonehunter]

hey katfish are you near the n.e. corner of ohio ? i'll be visiting one of my deercamp buddies this summer for a weekend of fishing . he lives in tiffin . he talkes alot about mud or muddy creek , familiar with it ? lonehunter
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[katfish]

Lonehunter

Mud Creek is actually an estuary feeding Sandusky bay(Lake Erie)

In the Spring there is a flurry of channel cat activity at Mud Creek. Fishing for channel cats can be very productive there. When the spawn starts you may do better from the Sandusky Bay bridge due to all the rip rap offering spawning sites for channel cats.
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[lonehunter]

that sounds like good advice , they tell me after a night of fishing they spend an hour or so pickin off the leaches , these guys really love that creek . i'll take the neopreme with me , i still have a lot of city boy in me yet ! thanks again , lonehunter
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