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48 lbs of ABOUT TIME!!

hanson

By hanson
in Catfish

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hanson Grand Master

hanson

Posted
Posted

Well, the cat gods were smiling on me tonight!!

My personal best Flathead landed in the boat shortly past midnight! It not only beat my old personal best, it destroyed it!

Hanson's 48lb Flathead Cat

44" Length x 29" Girth

48lbflathead3hj.jpg

Full story to follow. Its 3:48am now and I'm about worn out!

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Quote:

Congrats!!!

26 to 48 lbs...quite a jump there Mr...EX Break Off! Mr. Three Strikes Your Out!
grin.gif

Nice fish Chris!

I guess I shouldnt tell anyone you did break off on another big fish last night? wink.gif

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DTro Grand Master

DTro

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It was all in the boat positioning wink.gif

The crazy thing, is that we (mostly me) missed probably 10 other fish.

And don't let Mr B.O off so easily, he broke off what could've very well been even a bigger fish blush.gifgrin.gif

Great fish Chris! I'm also waiting to hear the story.

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SteveD Experienced

SteveD

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That is a hog! Nice fish, Chris. Looks like you have new wallpaper for your computer. I bet you have the bug now. Looking forward to the details on your catch. Get some sleep, you are going to have to go out again tonight - you've got to keep the streak alive.
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hanson Grand Master

hanson

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I'm not even sure where to start talking about the Minnesota River Flathead Catfishing trip that Darren ("dtro" from FishingMinnesota) and I had last night. Maybe I'll just start at the beginning.

A few days ago, I posted a photo of a 61" Lake Sturgeon that Darren caught up on the Rainy River this spring. I asked him if he wiped the grin off his face yet and jokingly said, "When we going fishing?" It didn't take us long to figure out when, and I was scrambling to leave work on Friday afternoon to go catch some bait for the trip. The bullhead bite was cooperating on a local lake, and I also had some help from fellow FMer & buddy "Fisher Dave". The tough part of the trip was over and that was obtaining good, lively bait!

Now I'm off to the Minnesota River just south of the Twin Cities with freshly caught bait wondering if we were even going to be able to fish. The skies were dark and there were a line of thunderstorms that were marching across the sky just north of us. We decided to go anyway and figured we could pull up to a sandbar and wait out the storm if need be.

We got anchored on our #1 fishing spot about 8pm. A little later than we wanted but still early enough to sit around and wait for dark to settle on us. Within about 5 minutes of anchoring, Darren had a really good run on his rod which he wasn't able to connect with. The fish are here we thought, that was a good sign! And then nothing happened until dark.

Somewhere around 10pm, we had a flurry of bite activity and flathead runs. I couldn't believe how much action we were getting but hooking up with these fish was becoming a problem. Darren broke the ice by getting a small flathead and then I followed up with a 9 pounder as well.

Darren w/ a Minnesota River Flathead Catfish

061006dtrosmallflat9mh.jpg

Hanson's 9lb Minnesota River Flathead Catfish

0610069lbflathead5uo.jpg

After this fish was in the boat, the activity slowed down and my eyes kept turning to the sky. There was obviously thunder & lightning to the north of us and now we were starting to see & hear some excitement to the south and all around us. Darren checked the weather radar on his cell phone and we discovered there were 2 big lines of storms that were basically straddling our location, 1 to the north and 1 to the south. Once again, we didn't feel like we were in too much danger and decided to keep fishing. And I'm glad we did!

About midnight, I heard the telltale sound of a rod getting thumped really hard in the rod holder. I looked over at the rod and Darren said I got wacked hard! The rod tip started to slowly load up and then my clicker went off a couple times. Wondering if the fish was still there, I picked the rod up and disengaged the clicker and started to feel for the fish. While thumbing the spool, the fish pulled a little line and started to swim off and then she put on the afterburners. Man alive did that fish take off! I engaged the spool and set the hook into what I thought was a decent fish. I don't have any previous experience with large flatheads so I was guessing a mid 20s fish with the way I got it up to the boat. Once boatside, however, this fish dove to the bottom like a big lake sturgeon and would not budge! Darren is looking over at me telling me I've got a big one on! I'm not sure how I was able to keep my cool but once the fish got below the boat, I backed off the drag on my Garcia 7000C3 not wanting to lose the fish with a sudden run. The fish came up from the bottom once and I saw the surface swirl & splash but didn't see the fish. I still wasn't convinced this was a monster and then it went back to the bottom for another tug of war. The longer that fish stayed on the bottom, the more my knees started to shake! Then it finally came up and surfaced and Darren was there with the net and we got it! I've gotta give Darren props for that net job, I didn't think it was going to fit!

So here it is again! My biggest Flathead Catfish ever!

48 Pounds!! 44" Length x 29" Girth

48lbflathead3hj.jpg

06100648lbflatheadvertical9tm.jpg

And the Release!!

I can't tell you how cool it is to do battle with a fish like this and then watch it swim away!

06100648lbrelease1gs.jpg

It seriously took about 10 minutes to get my act together after landing that fish. I experienced a full range of emotions and I think the biggest emotion was disbelief.

Did that finally happen to me?

Did I finally catch that big flathead I've been fishing for 1-1/2 years now?

For those of you who follow the catfish forum, I contribute pretty regularly and you'll know that I have put time in, both last summer and this summer too. Since early May, I've been hitting shore spots on the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities about 2-3 times a week staying out until 1am-2am most of the time. So far, small flatheads under 15lbs have been the norm. Last Sunday I ventured down to the Minnesota River with "rushing" and missed 5 runs. The disappointment one experiences with these "failed" outings can really get into your head and you start to wonder what you are doing wrong. Then all of a sudden, a few of the pieces fall into place and you are left holding a big fish like this with a big grin on your face! I love it!

I keep telling everyone that I'm absolutely hooked on these Catfish and I really like the tactics behind fishing Flathead Catfish at night. Its an adventure no doubt! Now that I've got my big one, I need to get another one! Its probably going to take a couple years as upper 40lb flatheads are not a dime a dozen.

I've really got to thank all the guys who have given out great fishing info over the years. Guys like Dennis "fishhead" Steele, Fisher "That Guy" Dave, Brian "I Da Man" Klawitter are awesome flathead catfisherman and I've learned a ton from you. You guys have definitely helped accelerate my learning curve and I'm really grateful for that!

Now, its off to get more bait! There's a 50 Pounder with my name on it tonight! Darren & I are heading back to the same spot! wink.gif

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Blue Kayak Collaborator

Blue Kayak

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Nice fish Chris. It is so much fun to read fish stories where the angler has worked really hard for his trophy instead of catching a once-in-lifetime trophy while dunking a worm at the dock. Now that your fishing in the right river, you'll be showing us a few more like this one.

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Wiskers Experienced

Wiskers

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Chris, that is just outstanding.. That even tops my personal best. Mine was just around the 40 mark. I really have to get down there now after seeing that.. sigh sigh..

Packing the truck right now.. LOL...

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Wiskers Experienced

Wiskers

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Well I was ready to head south, but got a bad call this morning.. A very good friend of mine just passed away last night. I will be tied up helping the family for a few days.

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katchaser Collaborator

katchaser

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Hanson

That sure is a pretty fish and a sweet story. Flathead fishermen are prone to feel the agony of defeat most of the time. Fish like that one are why we submit ourselves to many nights of waiting.

Congratulations and I hope you repeat on a regular basis.

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