2008 Flathead Cat Pictures

[Bass Whacker]

it was the biggest any of us had ever put in the boat the dnr officer that came over when we were lifting it in the boat said it was the biggest he had ever seenout of pool 3

[BuckKiller]

nice- do you know how much it weighed?

[Bass Whacker]

the officer guessed it was over 50 and i would agree it felt really heavy lifting it out of the water but its tough to say when your that excited

[DTro]

Very good chance that in the spring that was a record fish!

I would guess low 60's on that one based on the length alone.

Did you happen to get a girth measurement?

edit

I was just looking at the fish again and I'm pretty sure that the ruler on the boat is one of those standard 36" rulers. Giving it another 8 or so inches would make the length in the low to mid 40 inches. So, not exactly what I was thinking before. Still a beast, but more closer to high 40's or low 50's in poundage.

Sorry, not trying to disect the fish, but when I see a fish that is possibly 56" long it gets my heart racing

Still no matter, it's a great fish!

[Bass Whacker]

no girth measurment and yes your right i was assumeing it was the same as the tape in my boat(thanks for the correction) but i can tell you that it hung past the tape by 9 inches i did have that much written on the pic.

this pic might give you a better look at the girth

[hanso612]

I caught a 60 pounder on the Croix that had a similar look and length to what you stated and it hung from my nipples to the ground. I'm a six foot guy. Last night as I looked at the second picture I could see the tape but not read the numbers-but still was a little skeptical of the length. I actually counted the black slashes up to the dorsal fin- 16 and took a piece of paper and marked how long that was and moved it over to double it- 32 and added the last four unreadable slashes 36. I even took the time to post and call you out on it-but then I came to my senses and thought I would look like the jerk in the end. So I didn't send the post.

Us cat guys are a little particular about the nuances of our sport. Me I'm just generally fanatical.

Great fish and great pics no matter what. Those grins you have in the pics stay with you for a long time when you catch a giant like that. Hans

[DTro]

Great fish and great pics no matter what. Those grins you have in the pics stay with you for a long time when you catch a giant like that.

Ditto, and I hope I didn't come off "like a jerk". I can't tell you how much I would love to see a 56" fish (I don't care who catches it). Like I said it jump starts a guys heart.

By your measurements that puts that fish at about 45" and probably came in very close to 50!

Thanks again for sharing

[Bass Whacker]

no prob here i prolly would have called someone out on a bass pic to, thanks for catching i and sorry i got you guys all excited. I will get that 50 pounder one day. Wish me luck and I will be sure to have accurate measurments next time.

[hanso612]

Super skillfull work of diplomacy on your part DTRO. I wish I had made it clear in my post that I wasn't implying that you were being a jerk.

I'm telling you, it's all in the body language of the speaker and tone of voice. It's so hard to get a light hearted attitude across in print. So with me you have to read my stuff with a cross between wilford brimly and brian denehy in your head and you'll get the tone about right.

A couple years ago I insisted that a fifty was within reach of everyone and got some slack from the regulars. I know DTRO is a believer now and so are most of the regulars. I've multiple fish a couple of times from the same holes. If you let that one go she'll be almost there by next year and If you caught her in her home territory and not on a feeding flat you have a good chance of catching her again. Hans

[hanson]

By your measurements that puts that fish at about 45" and probably came in very close to 50!

Like Dtro mentioned, 36" + 9" = 45" length and that is pretty darn awesome for a Minnesota flathead. Not many guys catch a flathead with a 45" length. Without a girth measurement, a close weight would be hard to establish but I would say you could be anywhere in the 44-50lb range. The weight on these fish can vary considerably daily depending on when they last ate a meal.

[Shack]

Nice flat Bass Whacker!

Thanks for sharing. I can not wait for next spring

[JimBuck]

I haven't seen one of these in too long! Nice post. I'd like for spring to be here but I'm still waiting on good ice.

[Bass Whacker]

I cant wait for spring to get out chaseing cats again but not to let the cat out of the bag but we always get our big ones in no more than 6 feet of water and the one in the pic was caught on a spot that we fish in about 2 feet of water deep water close though. just curious do any of you guys fish shallow?

[hanso612]

I liken catfishing more to trapping than fishing. I have had most of my luck fishing holes and logjams. My theory is that these are home areas where thay stack up during the day. You can get them out of there by letting floats slide under jams, but when you hook one you have a high chance of snagging up.

I had a big boat, 33 feet, that was hard to manuever so I didn't move once I was set up, so my best performing techique was to target a hole and weight them out. I had a flurry of activity from dark until midnight and another at 5 to 6 am. My theory was that the fish would leave the resting hole and actively feed on the way out and on the way back in.

They would feed up on flats in very shallow watter during the night, but the flats are huge areas and picking the right spot isn't apparant like a hole or log jam. Flats are also loaded with turtles and other bait robbing fish. That,s why the cats go there to feed, but it can grow tiresome.

I had a boat I could sleep on, so waiting by those holes was no problem and usually worth it. Flat fishing was always hit or misss for me. The bait wasn't always in the same areas on the flat. If I was more mobile, I'm sure I would have connected more.

So, I think you have a better chance of connecting with active fish on the shallow flats-but who knows where. Once you find a few good holes in outside bends near feeding flats they are golden for years.

All theory of coarse.

I also like feeder streams during warm water, DTRO can tell you all about those-once it gets cold Oct-Nov give me a good wintering hole over a flat anyday. Hans

[Flaco651]

Nice flattie BW.

Quote:

just curious do any of you guys fish shallow?

I've caught flats anywhere from a couple feet of water to nearly 40 fow. So yes, I'll set up on them shallow at times.

[MinnesnowtaWild]

All the Flatheads I have caught and seen were caught in about 15-25 feet of water (estimated). We fished shallow 4-5 FOW flats and we never had anything but Shortnose Gar.

[rushing]

A good night.

47

44

41

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Wow, you're still catching them? MN River I assume?

[hanson]

Wow, you're still catching them? MN River I assume?

Those were from earlier this year.

[ec30_06]

Very early this year. Rob was a flathead catching machine this year. I had the pleasure of netting one of his flats over 40. Can't wait till spring to catch some real fish again.

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Oh nice you had my blood pumpin' there for a while.

Very nice Cats, I hope to catch some 40+ lb. fish next year.

[Scott M]

I found this at the IGFA webiste...pretty cool! I guess the James River is the place to be.

Fly fishing with 2 kg (4 lb) tippet on Richmond, Virginia, USA’s James River, J. Parks Rountrey, Mechanicsville, Va, landed a flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) on August 27, weighing 13.38 kg (29 lb 8 oz). Rountrey used a streamer fly and took 15 minutes to finesse it to the bank. He may tie the current IGFA record which was established just a month earlier on July 27, also on the James River.

[rushing]

Would be lots-o-fun on a fly rod.

[nsnutter]

That would be a blast! Certainly would be the largest thing I have landed on a fly rod!

[Gordie]

think it would be close to the same if I put my ABU garcia on the fly rod.