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FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
#9062338
06/15/24 11:22 PM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 26,794
JCB
OP
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OP
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 26,794 |
Me my Dad, and Brother set out this morning on a early Fathers Day fishing trip. We stayed close to home and just went out to Lake Ray Hubbard since most of the lakes are high from all the rain. Our mission today was mostly Bass but we had a few Crappie rods just in case. At daybreak we pulled up to the first spot looking for a topwater bite but it wasnt happening. Dad and Brother caught a few on swim baits and soft plastics but I zeroed at the first spot on the topwater. Next stop was a mid depth flat looking for some fish pushing shad up on the flat but nothing there either. At that point we were pretty close to a brush pile in 15' of water so I motored over there with the trolling motor and dropped a Crappie jig down on it and got thumped right away. I set the hook and knew right away I had a big ole Cat. I managed to chase him down with the trolling motor before he took all my line and thankfully he was headed for open water. Once I caught up with him I was powerless against him. 6 pound line and a 4'6" micro lite Crappie rod was worthless. I would tug and he would tug more. We played tug of war for nearly 1 mile based on GPS. 2 hours into the fight (YES 2 HOURS) he gave up and just sat on bottom. I told my Dad I had no choice but to start putting extra pressure on him to end this one way or another. When I did that he woke up and started running again but I was gaining on him. Nearly 2.5 hours into the fight we got our first glimpse of him. Few minutes later Dad was able to get the net under him. I know 1 mile and 2.5 hours of fighting sounds like total BS but I had 2 witnesses in the boat and 2 other pontoon boats that watched it all go down. If anyone would have told me they fought a freshwater fish that long before today I would have called BS on it too but it happend. The Bass fishing wasnt bad either. We ended up catching maybe 20 total but no big ones. In the second pic you can see the jig in the roof of his mouth. In the video the last 40 seconds or so is about all you really need to see. My brother tried to live stream it on Facebook but I told him to turn it off and just video the ending because I knew it was going to take a while. I dont know the story on the sunken boat. My guess is it was a victim of the high winds we had last week. ON EDIT: I figured someone would ask but yes I did let it go. I put it in the livewell with the areator on full blast to make sure it was going to survive before I turned it loose. Once I was confident it was going to live I let it go and it swam off very strong. ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2024/06/full-5026-423018-img_e8201.jpg) ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2024/06/full-5026-423019-img_e3876.jpg) ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2024/06/full-5026-423020-img_8189.jpg)
Last edited by JCB; 06/15/24 11:31 PM.
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: JCB]
#9062387
06/16/24 02:32 AM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 67,486
SnakeWrangler
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 67,486 |
Sounds like a great afternoon!
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored] Actually, BBC is pretty damn good "You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: JCB]
#9062388
06/16/24 02:39 AM
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 16,023
Tbar
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 16,023 |
Impressive!!!
That is some good line.
Make America Great Again
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: JCB]
#9062416
06/16/24 04:16 AM
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 33,121
kmon11
junior
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junior
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 33,121 |
Good times. 
lf the saying "Liar, Liar your pants on fire" were true Mainstream news might be fun to watch
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: JCB]
#9062426
06/16/24 05:39 AM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 72,378
NORML as can be
^^Cut the Cord^^
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^^Cut the Cord^^
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 72,378 |
Nice one 
(R-TX) .-- " TCNN CURL CRLB AYR SNDL CGC TLRY MSOS "
_=====___=________==-
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: JCB]
#9062444
06/16/24 11:00 AM
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 46,131
Stub
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 46,131 |
Heck of a catch on that light tackle  Wonder what caused the damage to that cats back by the dorsal fin?
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: JCB]
#9062476
06/16/24 12:08 PM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 5,316
1955
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 5,316 |
Awesome , congrats 
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: JCB]
#9062514
06/16/24 01:09 PM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 10,413
Old Rabbit
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 10,413 |
One heck of a good Fathers Day Outing. Nice catch on such light line and rod.
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: JCB]
#9062582
06/16/24 02:58 PM
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Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 1,852
Master Plumb
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 1,852 |
So cool thanks for sharing. 
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: JCB]
#9062621
06/16/24 04:27 PM
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Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 6,730
angus1956
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 6,730 |
Flatheads love crappie too.
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: Tbar]
#9062634
06/16/24 05:00 PM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 26,794
JCB
OP
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OP
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 26,794 |
Impressive!!!
That is some good line. I was using 6lb Suffix Superior with a 6lb Seaguar flurocarbon leader. Its the best balance between abrasion resistance and low memory that I have found. I have shot docks all day around metal dock posts with it and never broke a fish off on it.
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: Stub]
#9062636
06/16/24 05:04 PM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 26,794
JCB
OP
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OP
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 26,794 |
Heck of a catch on that light tackle  Wonder what caused the damage to that cats back by the dorsal fin? I see it alot this time of year and the bigger the fish it seems the more wounds they have. With this being the tail end of the spawn I am sure she was up under some rocks somewhere doing her thing and thats what caused it. Could even be from the brush pile she was laid up in. I caught a pretty nice Channel cat while actually catfishing 2 weeks ago and it had a spot like that on its back and its forehead. That fish was caught on the rocks.
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: JCB]
#9062666
06/16/24 06:19 PM
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Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 1,005
duffas
Pro Tracker
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Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 1,005 |
Boat tied up in bad weather - something you don't do. Caught a 10# drum on 5wt flyrod up at Texoma long time ago - lots of fun dragging it in. Young kid helped pull it onto the bank to remove the hook.
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Re: FLATHEAD CATFISH ON 6 POUND LINE
[Re: duffas]
#9063308
06/17/24 11:55 PM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 26,794
JCB
OP
THF Celebrity
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OP
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 26,794 |
Boat tied up in bad weather - something you don't do. Agree! But like I said I dont know the story behind what happened. I do know that a pretty good percentage of the private boat docks on the lake took a beating from the bad weather and high winds and waves we had a couple of weeks ago. Some were a complete loss and way beyond repair. I can only speculate but I would be willing to bet that boat was probably in one of the private docks that was destroyed and broke loose during the storm before it became submerged and over turned. I am sure at some point someone came upon the boat in front of the bridge and tied it to the pillars until it can be recovered. I wont speculate about the brand new Ugly Stic rod and reel combo laying on the hull though. 
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