Rodney Outlasts a Demon Catfish
Had a great trip with Rodney Bass and Josh Creel from Middle Tennessee Wednesday... although it started out tough. We struggled to find fish for the first two hours... we had a grand total of six cats, with nothing worth bragging about. Then with some help from a friend, we found the Mother Lode. It was very crazy because my friend had fished the exact same spot the day before and caught ZERO. But what a difference a day makes.
We were on a light tackle pattern. Rodney and Josh started catching quality fish right away. I had Rodney using a rod with a little heft to it, but the line was severely twisted from previous drag-stripping catches in the days before. I handed him another rod, the smallest, wimpiest spinning rod I own, loaded with the standard 10 lb. test (with 20 lb. shock leader). Not long afterwards, Rodney's itty bitty rod bows down, and stays bowed. I said, "Uh oh! Josh reel up and get out of Rodney's way."
I knew immediately we were in for a long fight, but on light tackle you really never know if you're dealing with a 25 lb. fish or an 80 lb. fish. Long story short - Rodney now holds the record for the longest catfish battle ever held in my boat. He fought the demon cat for one-and-a-half hours. :popcorn We know, because we started the official "Wicked Tuna" catch clock. The previous record in my boat was 1 hour 15 minutes.
Now if Rodney had been experienced with my light tackle, he probably could have whipped the fish faster. However, he was NOT babying the big boy either. He was putting some heat on it but this demon cat had no "quit" in him. Every time Rodney would pull him up three feet, the big dude would immediately take three feet back... I think the fish must have been kin to the Energizer Bunny because it just kept going and going and going. But Rodney finally outlasted him... 44 inches in length with a 29.5 inch girth. :biggrin
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It's a bragging-sized cat on any tackle but especially on 10 lb. test. Rodney told me that morning his personal best cat was 42 lbs. and I said, "Oh my, that's a big target to shoot for." Well by golly, we shot and Rodney hit. The big boy got to swim free, but Rodney and Josh gave about 100 lbs. of catfish a free ride back to Middle Tennessee to be released in "Crisco Lake." :Rofl That means life is good and gettin' better every day!
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