Monster Flathead Madness (8/4/16): New PB and a First

[JDTuna]

I decided that one of my goals this year was to catch a flathead catfish. Once that goal was met, I decided I wanted to a big flathead catfish. A really big one. I had been doing a little research to learn about the species, and had been scouting for some new spots. I had found an area that I was certain would hold some big fish. I gave Chrisper a call, and despite his personal vendetta against whisker fish, he was eager to join.

We caught bait and arrived at the spot at dark, only to find two guys set up right where we were going to fish. Not a big deal, we made an adjustment and set up about 50 yards away. I figured that there would be fish hunting throughout the whole area. We set up, and prepared for the wait. Tonight, the wait wasn't long.

Within ten minutes of setting up, line started to fly off my reel into the darkness. I grabbed the rod and set the hook, and immediately felt the massive headshakes of a very big catfish. Way bigger than any of my previous flatheads. After a fight involving runs punctuated by massive headshakes, I saw a flathead emerge from the depths. I waded in the shallow water and grabbed the fish by the jaw, and the fish was clearly not done fighting. After a bit of twisting, flopping and biting, I had my new (by far) personal best flathead catfish. I didn't measure the fish, but I would guess it was somewhere between 25 and 30lbs. A quick picture and she was safely released.





We worked quickly to set the rods back out and try to get another. Chrisper landed the perfect cast and before he could put his rod down there was line screaming off the reel. He set the hook, and rod bowed instantly. After a* tense fight, the fish appeared in the shallow water and I waded in and lipped his very first flathead catfish. And a big one at that! The fish taped out to 32 inches, which put it right around 16lbs. Once again, after a couple of well-deserved pictures, the catfish was returned to the water.





As we were casting the baits out, Chrisper hit another cat on the head and his reel was screaming even before he put his rod down.
Unfortunately, on the hookset the fish ran across a rock and cut the line.

Things were quiet for a while before my reel screamed again. I picked up the rod and set the hook, and was greeted to the same vicious headshakes and runs. This fish also thrashed on the surface, throwing water everywhere. This fish taped out to 33.5 inches and was estimated at 18 to 19lbs.





After that, we called it a night after fishing only 2 hours because I had work in the morning. Though I didn't measure my biggest fish, it was quite a bit longer than the 33.5 inches, which probably put it in the 25 to 30lb class. I love flathead fishing!