# portagelakes monster cat



## portagelakes (May 22, 2012)

Seen a guy named rick oaks land a 52lb catfish today on east. Was the bigest ive ever seen out here. My girl said she never swimming in portagelakes again lol. You can see the pic at Ron slaters portage lakes bait n tackle


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## buckzye11 (Jul 16, 2009)

I saw it too, must have been you at the dock there. i was with my brother and his boys. And that thing was a beast! He got that on a shakey head worm to boot. 30 lb fireline. Congrats on the C&R Rick!


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## portagelakes (May 22, 2012)

Yep that was me and girlfriend we were out fishing seen him fighting it thought his rod was gonna break in half lol what a great thing to see was exciting


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## buckzye11 (Jul 16, 2009)

Yeah lol he may get a check from Carrot Stix to improve upon the reputation its a weak rod. Sounds like a good one to me... a med action handled a 52 pounder. Wondering if he had a net or did he grab it right out?


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## portagelakes (May 22, 2012)

Lol we pulled up next to him his net wasn't big enough him and his buddy lifted it into there boat


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## Mr Chomp (Jan 22, 2012)

Chomparific!!!!


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## Dawgus (Jul 8, 2012)

That sure isn't any North Reservoir cat lol


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## mpd5094 (Jun 20, 2005)

I saw the pics on FB. What a monster! Portage Lakes....that must've been you I saw in front of Ron's. You were leaving. I was in the blue Ranger with my wife.


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## portagelakes (May 22, 2012)

Yep it was definitley a hog


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## Pyrofanity (Mar 28, 2011)

How do I find the pictures on Facebook? Really want to see this fish.


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## portagelakes (May 22, 2012)

Search portage lakes bait and tackle on face book


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

Well, so much for a catch and release effort! Too bad the fish was obviously lugged around for a trophy show and released after being badly stressed. It's only one this time. In the future, try to be a little more hasty if you do plan to release a fish.
















My buddy found this fish floating at his dock on East reservoir. He apparently had to tow it somewhere away from his place and sent me the pictures. What a shame!


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## lennyzrx (Dec 31, 2011)

portagelakes said:


> Yep it was definitley a hog


Sadly by the pic's posted...........not anymore!


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## buckzye11 (Jul 16, 2009)

On Johns behalf, he WAS very hasty to get it back into the water. I dont know how long it took to fight it, but it was caught on a med spinning setup, im sure that had alot to do with the stressing of the cat. I had to tell him what kind of catfish it was, His first flathead i presume. For someone to catch a fish that big out of PL a few good pictures were needed, cant fault him for that. I tried to get one on my phone, but he was intent om getting it back into the water, so i didn't have a chance.... oh well, turtles are eating good today.


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## buckzye11 (Jul 16, 2009)

Just found out that fish was actually out of the water for close to a half hour... i recant the previous statements... except for the turtles eating good.


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## carpslayer (Mar 25, 2012)

thats just as much as the peeps around hims fault for not telling him to get it in the water sooner.... damn shame!!!


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## Channelcatman (Sep 21, 2009)

That fish was beached on Kiefer marine's ramp yesterday mourning, I was fishing east and saw it, that was one huge flathead!!! Damn shame it died.


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## lennyzrx (Dec 31, 2011)

folk's view cat's and carp the same way. disposeble fish?

it takes quite a few years to grow them big! 10-15 a young man will grow OLD/

Oh well, hopefully live and learn!


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## Fisherman 3234 (Sep 8, 2008)

lennyzrx said:


> folk's view cat's and carp the same way. disposeble fish?
> 
> it takes quite a few years to grow them big! 10-15 a young man will grow OLD/
> 
> Oh well, hopefully live and learn!


A lot of times in Ohio they take longer than that to reach that size.


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## bttmline (Apr 7, 2004)

I used to be an avid flathead fisherman when I was younger and this saddens me that they let this happen. Many may not agree, but this is a wasted trophy.


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## BassMaster19 (May 22, 2008)

The guy who caught it looks just like the catfish haha.


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## KWaller (Oct 3, 2010)

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## BloggingwithIntegrity (Jul 17, 2012)

It saddens me to see the photos of the catfish. It is my hope that it was not the catfish that was caught by my father. By the way, I would like to ask how we even know the validity of this even being a catfish in Portage Lakes. I wonder if this could just be someone jealous and trying to ruin someone's good experience. The catfish my dad caught was handled with care as well. I stumbled across this sight through a friend that shared it with my husband when he heard of the fish my dad caught. I would like to offer some insight into my father as a fisherman, as I am disheartened by the cruel words by some of his fellow fisherman in this blog. My father has been fishing for years and he is very kind hearted. He is a bass fisherman and has always caught and released every fish he ever caught. I am not going to even share with him the things I have seen on this blog as it would crush him. I can tell you that he was excited to have caught a fish that big and in no way wanted to harm this fish. There were several other people that were watching this event take place. The owner of the bait shop was also there. If this fish were being mistreated, don't you think the people at the bait shop would have spoken up. Also, for the comment about my dad looking like the fish, - how petty and immature. Really! I expect more from fellow fishermen/women.


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## Tatonka (Aug 23, 2007)

BloggingwithIntegrity said:


> It saddens me to see the photos of the catfish. It is my hope that it was not the catfish that was caught by my father. By the way, I would like to ask how we even know the validity of this even being a catfish in Portage Lakes. I wonder if this could just be someone jealous and trying to ruin someone's good experience. The catfish my dad caught was handled with care as well. I stumbled across this sight through a friend that shared it with my husband when he heard of the fish my dad caught. I would like to offer some insight into my father as a fisherman, as I am disheartened by the cruel words by some of his fellow fisherman in this blog. My father has been fishing for years and he is very kind hearted. He is a bass fisherman and has always caught and released every fish he ever caught. I am not going to even share with him the things I have seen on this blog as it would crush him. I can tell you that he was excited to have caught a fish that big and in no way wanted to harm this fish. There were several other people that were watching this event take place. The owner of the bait shop was also there. If this fish were being mistreated, don't you think the people at the bait shop would have spoken up. Also, for the comment about my dad looking like the fish, - how petty and immature. Really! I expect more from fellow fishermen/women.


Meh, it happens I guess, at least he didn't do like some people where they catch a nice fish, keep it to get it mounted then when they find out how much it costs to get mounted they throw them into the weeds


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## portagelakes (May 22, 2012)

My girlfriend and i saw your dad catch the fish and followed him to the bait shop after pix he released the cat and we watched it swim away


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## BloggingwithIntegrity (Jul 17, 2012)

That's exactly what my brother-in-law (who was with my dad) said. He told me that there were several people standing there and watched it swim away just fine. He looked at the pictures of the dead one and didn't think it was the same one, but really there is no way to ever know.


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

Fish die, it happens, I understand. The fish in my pictures was found 100 yards from Burch's. If flatheads were a regular occurrence from Portage Lakes, I might agree the fish might not have been his. However, the coincidence is undeniable. I have seen plenty of fish swim away only to die hours or days later. I agree, for many, the fish would be a fish of a lifetime and to have caught it is truly a memorable experience. 
However, the point of my post was to show how mishandling fish in warm weather/water ends up for the fish. Yes, he may have gotten the fish back as quickly as he thought was necessary, but it ended up being too little too late. It truly is a shame to see such a trophy lost and I don't care who you are or what the circumstance. If you intend to release a fish, there is no excuse for a fish having to be out of the water for half an hour, no matter the species. I would have rather heard that he took it home to mount or eat, rather than finding it dead floating in the lake.
For the record, I didn't post the pictures because I was jealous. I have caught plenty of large flatheads and have no reason to be jealous of some bass fisherman landing a fish that he otherwise has no idea how to fish for!
Catch and release, if you chose, should be done quickly, not after being toted around for a half hour to show off for pictures!
Bloggingwithintegrity, get over it, this is a public forum and having thick skin is sometimes necessary, I'm just telling the truth and providing a lesson about improper catch and release. I agree, some comments on this thread were better left in elementary school, that's just how it is though, you take the good with the bad.


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

BloggingwithIntegrity said:


> It saddens me to see the photos of the catfish. It is my hope that it was not the catfish that was caught by my father. By the way, I would like to ask how we even know the validity of this even being a catfish in Portage Lakes. I wonder if this could just be someone jealous and trying to ruin someone's good experience. The catfish my dad caught was handled with care as well. I stumbled across this sight through a friend that shared it with my husband when he heard of the fish my dad caught. I would like to offer some insight into my father as a fisherman, as I am disheartened by the cruel words by some of his fellow fisherman in this blog. My father has been fishing for years and he is very kind hearted. He is a bass fisherman and has always caught and released every fish he ever caught. I am not going to even share with him the things I have seen on this blog as it would crush him. I can tell you that he was excited to have caught a fish that big and in no way wanted to harm this fish. There were several other people that were watching this event take place. The owner of the bait shop was also there. If this fish were being mistreated, don't you think the people at the bait shop would have spoken up. Also, for the comment about my dad looking like the fish, - how petty and immature. Really! I expect more from fellow fishermen/women.


 what? Blog? But this is obviously a forum!
After sèeing both the dead and live cat, it looks like you may be rigbt about that. But maybe the fish changed color at death. You never reallyknow.


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

BloggingwithIntegrity said:


> That's exactly what my brother-in-law (who was with my dad) said. He told me that there were several people standing there and watched it swim away just fine. He looked at the pictures of the dead one and didn't think it was the same one, but really there is no way to ever know.


Was it out of the water 30 min?


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## deadbetty01 (May 17, 2004)

Hahahaah this whole thread is so petty its actually funny! Oh no the only catfish to ever live in portage lakes has passed away.....no chance that it died of natural causes or got hit by a prop of one of the many pleasure boaters in the lake???? I don't think there's any reason to give the guy a hard time because he fought a fish and got some pics and released it? Besides catfish can survive much longer than a half hour out of the water! Guess since its such a mystery you will have to hope they took dna from it while taking pics and you can test the dead one to know for sure.....I know ill sleep better when I find out the truth.....grow up! My .02

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## barf (May 10, 2009)

what saddens me is the negativity of this site lately. the only threads that get any real attention are always complaining about something.


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

Dead betty, your post is a bit negative, but it does raise a good point. How can we know that fish died from the fight? If there were more pics of the entire cat, then maybe it could shed more light on the story. I say we get the word of the guy who caught it and guy who took the pics od the dead cat.


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## buckzye11 (Jul 16, 2009)

To the question about the half hour... i arrived on the scene late and only saw the fish out of water for maybe 2 minutes. I was just told it was out of the water "close to a half hour" by another that was there.
I never intended anything negative towards John or the way he handeled the fish and the release. Fish die, i'm sure the stress of the fight itself had alot to do with it. 
Nice Catch John


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## BloggingwithIntegrity (Jul 17, 2012)

There is nothing to get over. I simply just wanted to express my opinion that there is no evidence that this was in fact the fish that my dad caught and that I was disappointed with the some of the comments that were being made. I love my dad and have the utmost respect for him. I'm sure that if any of you have daughters and people were talking bad about you, that they would want to set the record straight as well. With regards to the fish being out of the water for 1/2 hour, I was not there and I'm not asking my dad because then I'd have to explain why I wanted to know. My brother-in-law, who was with my dad, said he didn't time it, but that he did not feel it was out of the water nearly that long. I guess there are a lot of unknowns here and really all we can do is just assume. As I said, I know my dad and what kind of person he is, and I just wasn't crazy about the way he was being portrayed in some of the posts. Blogging/Forum - I apologize... I guess I don't really know enough about this to understand the difference. Have a nice day!


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## Tatonka (Aug 23, 2007)

buckzye11 said:


> To the question about the half hour... i arrived on the scene late and only saw the fish out of water for maybe 2 minutes. I was just told it was out of the water "close to a half hour" by another that was there.
> I never intended anything negative towards John or the way he handeled the fish and the release. Fish die, i'm sure the stress of the fight itself had alot to do with it.
> Nice Catch John


Fish do die, it is a part of the sport


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## BloggingwithIntegrity (Jul 17, 2012)

My brother-in-law said he didn't think it was out that long.


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## BloggingwithIntegrity (Jul 17, 2012)

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=92349
Ran across this thread from four years ago. This fish was bigger and longer then the one caught earlier this month. Unless catfish shrink and lose weight with age, it would appear that there is more than 1 large cat fish in Portage Lakes.


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

My reasoning for saying anything at all was to provide a lesson. Just because you see a fish swim away doesn't mean it will not succumb to stress later. It is admirable that the man wanted to catch and release this fish quickly. The point is, it wasn't quick enough obviously. 

People think catfish are bulletproof because they may survive a little longer out of water than trout, muskies, bass...etc. However, a warm day in warm water, a likely long fight, and finally too long out of water may have taken its toll. Catch and release is what makes the Portage lakes such a strong fishery. I don't believe there is a viable breeding population of flatheads in the lakes, though it is surely likely not the only fish of its caliber swimming those waters. 

To kill a single fish is not really a big deal. To call this a lesson is accurate and I'm sorry a seemingly respectable guy had to have this happen even with good intentions. My motivation was not to "throw him under the bus", but to show folks what happens when things are not done properly.

If your intention is to release fish, BE PREPARED to do so. Have a scale, tape measure, and a camera handy. A few quick measurements and photos, could have been done in 5 minutes or so. 

Catch and release can be taken to extremes and I am by no means a purist catch and release fisherman. I harvest a modest amount of walleyes, perch, bluegill, crappies, and even a small flathead or two every year. However, I do believe trophy specimens of species which are slow to reach that size should be given a little more consideration. Proper catch and release helps ensure future opportunities and each time I release large fish, I know that myself or someone else may very well enjoy the experience of catching it again.
Catch, Photo, Release (CPR)

BWI, I understand your motivation and concern, but again, this is a public forum and I took the opportunity to make an example of a situation. I'm sure your father is a good man with good intentions. Landing a fish of that caliber on bass tackle takes skill and patience when playing them out and he obviously succeeded where many might have just broken it off. My advice to you, buy him a nice scale, flexible tape, and a decent digital camera for Christmas, I'm sure he'll appreciate them. No hard feelings on my end and I'm sorry if my intentions were not understood. Had this happened at Clendening, Piedmont, or some other less developed body of water, no one would have likely seen this fish floating along the bank.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

I don't think that an immediate release would have made much difference. The main issue with the fish being stressed is the long fight on light tackle in warm water which is nobody's fault.
I know I wouldn't be bass fishing with my flathead gear in the Portage Lakes. Stuff happens.


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## Portage Lakes Bait & Tack (Jul 13, 2011)

*The man in the pic that caught the fish in No Way meant to harm it. After I weighed it and we took the picures, he released it. It was plenty ALIVE when released. Like a few others have said, that it died basically from a 19 minute fight. Rick is a fantastic guy that would not harm a fly. Apologies to him should be in order.*


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## Portage Lakes Bait & Tack (Jul 13, 2011)

*I had the lure here but threw it away. It was a stand up jig with a 4 inch worm on 30 lb. braid. He was just flipping it. No catfishing rods or tackle was used.*


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