# first BIG blue cat in YEARS!



## nlcatfish (Mar 21, 2005)

September 2nd. I went catfishing from the bank with my brother this morning. We had a total of four rods in the water at 08:00. It was sunny yet cool due to the strong breeze and river was colored. 

I was watching my rods when one of them got hammered! Thank goodness I had it tied down or it would have been yanked in the river! When I finally got to the rod I did NOT feel the fish at all. Held the rod for some time then started to reel in the line, the fish had me wrapped on something, then finally came off of it. That is when I felt how big the fish was! I called for my brother to get the dip net opened up for there was NO way I could get this fish out of the river. It seemed forever trying to get that catfish off of the bottom and towards me. I just had to take my time and try to wear it down; no way could I horse that fish. When we saw it we realized that big net could do the job. I was very relieved once that fish was no longer in the river. It was 38 inches and weighed 23 pounds 6 ounces per my digital scale after I subtracted the weight of the dip net. That fish hit a piece of shad oil seasoned chicken breast! The fish was returned to the river hopefully to have someone else experience the same thrill I had fighting it.

That was ONLY bite and 1 light tap we had in 3 ½ hours of fishing. My brother even had a fresh skipjack he cut up for his 2 rods, nothing hit them. We both have the feeling that part of the river has been depleted of fish by commercial fishermen. We packed it in around 11:30 had big thrill to start the day anyway. A friend there had some extra skipjacks that he gave us, so I now have them as bait for my next boat trip


Author of Kindle e-book *"ROD BENDING CATFISH"*


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

hey congrats on such a great fish. good luck on your next boat trip. the biggest cat I've ever caught was a 11 lb channel. never fished for the big ones like you get in places like the ohio river.
sherman


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## nlcatfish (Mar 21, 2005)

That is the first big fish I have caught in years. before that one the biggest I caught this year was 4 pounds. Total before yesterday only 3 catfish for the whole year!


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

i'll have to say your one guy that has a stick to it attitude. but I guess there is a lot of guys that just enjoys the fishing as much as the catching. I use to make a lot of trips to dale hollow for the white bass and walleye runs. sometimes we would hit the run and have great success. other times not so much. but we kept going for a lot of yrs. it was just nice to get out fishing early in the yr and enjoy the warmer weather we usually had down there.
sherman


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

how in the world, did you manage NOT get a picture of the fish??


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## burnsj5 (Jan 30, 2014)

Awesome job, hope the luck stays with you and keep catching fish like that the rest of the year.


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## nlcatfish (Mar 21, 2005)

I have not had time to up load the photo to a url address before I can post it on here. Photo will be here soon!


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

I was beginning to feel sorry for your bad luck this summer.
Persistence pays!!!! A plus-20 pound blue cat is a trophy in anyone's books.
Hopefully this is the beginning of a hot streak for you this fall.


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## nlcatfish (Mar 21, 2005)

BMustang said:


> I was beginning to feel sorry for your bad luck this summer.
> Persistence pays!!!! A plus-20 pound blue cat is a trophy in anyone's books.
> Hopefully this is the beginning of a hot streak for you this fall.



I hope so too, for I want my grandson to catch some so he gets hooked on river catfishing.


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## nlcatfish (Mar 21, 2005)

Finally have time to up load the photos of the big bluecat. I was so worn out from fighting the fish I had a hard time picking it up for the pictures. My brother took 2 photos with his camera. I then put the fish down so he could get a photo with my digital camera. wished it had turned out better. The black out is to make it harder for the commercial fishermen to find that spot!


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## polebender (Oct 29, 2011)

Great looking blue cat! That first pic looks almost like a shark laying there! Lol! Congrats!


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

that is one hog for sure. love the picture of the fish and net. makes it look like it didn't want to fit, LOL. keep us posted on future catches.
sherman


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

nlcat, thats a great catch! congrats man!!


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## HANeal (Nov 8, 2009)

Love the cropping =)


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## HANeal (Nov 8, 2009)

Oh, and NICE FISH!!


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## nlcatfish (Mar 21, 2005)

Like to keep the commercial fishermen from finding the spot as best I Can. My brother & I feel they have worked over the area too much already.


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