Old Skool Catfishing

This was on the front page of The Hutchinson News when I was 15.

Well, this was 20+ years ago so Ill do my best to get all the details right.  I remember sittin in the house with grandpa, bored out of my mind, watching tv.  I told him we should go fishing despite the heat, so we packed up and hit the bait shop.  Since we were just going to a local park pond, all we picked up was a few dozen worms.

We got to the lake, baited up and started throwing out lines.  No sooner than I set my rod in the holder it buckled over nice and slow, so I grabbed the pole, set the hook, and it was off to the races!

At first, I really didnt even think it was a fish.  It was almost like dragging dead weight through the muddy bottom.  I just assumed it must be a big ass turtle, until I got him close enough to see it was the biggest fish Id ever had on the end of my line. 

This lake had been plagued with severe moss around the entire bank so, I was worried about how I could drag this pig up to the bank on 14 pound line.  Out of nowhere, grandpa jumped in the lake and waded out past the moss, waist deep.  The whole time he was screaming "Keep that som-bitch outta the moss!"  After about a 30 minute battle grandpa grabbed his bottom lip and dragged him up on the bank.  I was amazed!

We roped him up to a nearby tree and placed him in the water.  "What do you wanna do?  You wanna fish or do you wanna take him to the bait shop and get him weighed?"  I couldnt wait. "Lets go now!"  So we put him in the back of the truck and a sat there the entire way to the bait shop pouring water over the fish.  We get to the bait shop and I carry the fish in and place it in his livewell and proceeded to tell him my story.  He could hardly believe where I caught it and that it bit on worms.  He told me it was 42 pounds.  (I know now, after my 42 I got in May, it was more like 32 pounds)  It was the biggest fish to be caught in that park in 20-30 years so he called the newspaper and they came out to do this story.

About a month later, I get a knock on the front door and it is our local game warden.  "Uh oh.  He was there to inform me that selling a live game fish in Kansas was illegal.  The bait shop owner should have known better.  He was cool though and wanted to know all about how and where I caught it.  I did not end up in any trouble.  He said that next time I got a monster not to sell it or not tell the paper I did.  I will never forget my first flathead catfish.

Mike's Massive Personal Best Flathead

66 pound flathead

Finally got my dream fish Today on the Kaw River.Wasnt really planning on hitting the river 2day but i didnt have anything else to do so i was like what the hell.Called a couple of people to see if they wanted to go but everyone was at work.So i headed out and got to the River around 11 p.m.


Found a new spot on the Misssouri that i found last week on Google Maps but didnt catch anything the night i fished it.Deceided to give it another try Today with some sunfish instead of Carp.I wasnt expecting to do any good in the day time as i never really catch anything.Used live bait for about an hour with no bites.Decided to put a Kat Bobber out with a 8oz No Roll with my biggest Sunfish.After and hour, still no bite.Cut his head off and put it under the Bobber and a hour later around 1:30 i heard my clicker slowly going off.Got up and started reeling in real fast and he went crazy.Made a coupe of hard runs taking drag and i couldn't get him from off the bottom for nothing.Finally he made a really hard run and came up.Had a hell of a time trying to get him out the water by myself but i got him in.This fish was very stout with a huge belly and humped head.

You would have thought i won the lottery the way i was jumping up and down screaming.Called my buddy Justin to come take some pics for me.Good thing he was close.I held it in the water till he got their and he had plenty of energy left.He swimmed off so i think he will be all right.

I was having a really slow year but this makes up for all them looooong nights night catching nothing.
 
 
Photos and story courtesy of Mike a.k.a KansasKatCatcher.