Lake Record Catfish - Entry Thread

[F/W Fishwhistle]

I want F/W Fishwhistle to do the guessing, unfortunatley I wasnt strong enough to long-arm them.

My guess meter can only go as high as 99 due to poor design. So... I’ll say with confidence 99.9+ lbs. in total weight.

Those are some beautiful, healthy tuna. Nice work!

 

[KYKevin]

Yellow belly tuna, we can them,

 

[Flipper]

It was an epic battle. Caught it on a pole that I use only off of the house boat that I keep rigged with a slip bobber, so it does not get much maintenance. Best I can remember it is about 10 years old and has the original line on it. When I realized what I had on all kind of things were running through my head about the quantity and quality of the line. He made at least a dozen runs on me, sometimes taking 50 to 60 feet of line. Was at least 10 to 12 minutes before I got a look at him, and another 5 or 6 to land him. Thought about keeping him to stuff and bake for Thanksgiving, but the wife vetoed that Idea, so we let him go. Tried to attach a video of his release but was denied?

 

[Flipper]

Hey redneck, where do you catch those yellow flathead tuna?

 

[Not Yet You Bet]

Wayne

Just a note about your original fishing tips in 2000. It won't let me respond there so thought I would say something here.

"Catfish are ever present in the summer on shallow sandy beach areas and caught on stink baits, anchovies, and table scraps. Fish any place a boat can be beached for best success. Use a carolina rig with a light weight or just a piece of bait with no hook in shallow water (5-15 feet). The biggest fish are in flowing water of tributaries. But the scrappy, great-tasting fish are commonly caught during the summer months."

If you could explain the piece of bait with no hook part with a little more detail it might help me to understand. Every time I try this I seem to loose the catfish before I can get him in. Maybe I am using the wrong bait?

 

[wayne gustaveson]

Wayne

Just a note about your original fishing tips in 2000. It won't let me respond there so thought I would say something here.

"Catfish are ever present in the summer on shallow sandy beach areas and caught on stink baits, anchovies, and table scraps. Fish any place a boat can be beached for best success. Use a carolina rig with a light weight or just a piece of bait with no hook in shallow water (5-15 feet). The biggest fish are in flowing water of tributaries. But the scrappy, great-tasting fish are commonly caught during the summer months."

If you could explain the piece of bait with no hook part with a little more detail it might help me to understand. Every time I try this I seem to loose the catfish before I can get him in. Maybe I am using the wrong bait?

Come on! Have you actually tried using no hook to catch a fish? It works really well if you are a "Catch and Release" type fishermen. I guess if you really want to actually catch the catfish then using a HOOK would be a lot better option. Also, if you had "patience" you could let the catfish eat the bait, swallow it and then lodge it in the stomach. Then you could begin playing the fish. You probably need a reel with a 1000 yards of line to wait for the digestion process to work and the line to tangle around the stomach or a digesting crayfish, or something else.

Come to think of it - the best option is probably to use a hook with no WEIGHT. It would be a lot simpler.

 

[WaterDog19]

The method Does work, when we could actually fish on the face of the dam, and the stripers would stack up there, it got to be a joke on being able to catch AND keep them with anchovies and No hook, not always but more than not they made it into the boat.

 

[Not Yet You Bet]

Come on! Have you actually tried using no hook to catch a fish? It works really well if you are a "Catch and Release" type fishermen. I guess if you really want to actually catch the catfish then using a HOOK would be a lot better option. Also, if you had "patience" you could let the catfish eat the bait, swallow it and then lodge it in the stomach. Then you could begin playing the fish. You probably need a reel with a 1000 yards of line to wait for the digestion process to work and the line to tangle around the stomach or a digesting crayfish, or something else.

Come to think of it - the best option is probably to use a hook with no WEIGHT. It would be a lot simpler.

ha ha, I have actually caught crayfish without a hook, so I have tried using no hook to catch a fish. One other thing, you can use a bunch of poles when you don't use a hook and that improves your odds.
Just thought you might want to fix the instructions.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

ha ha, I have actually caught crayfish without a hook, so I have tried using no hook to catch a fish. One other thing, you can use a bunch of poles when you don't use a hook and that improves your odds.
Just thought you might want to fix the instructions.

DONE!

 

[Dworwood]

That is kind of funny cause I had just read that report Sunday but I ASSUMED he meant "weight". So when I saw your post I actually laughed. Glad it is all straightened out.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

That is kind of funny cause I had just read that report Sunday but I ASSUMED he meant "weight". So when I saw your post I actually laughed. Glad it is all straightened out.

Yeah! Where were you guys in 2000 when I wrote the original report. I could have used the help then instead of letting it go for 20 years without correction. But, it is done now so we can all go fishing again.

 

[birdsnest]

Yeah! Where were you guys in 2000 when I wrote the original report. I could have used the help then instead of letting it go for 20 years without correction. But, it is done now so we can all go fishing again.

And chuckle!

 

[lynntrav4444]

The current Lake Record Catfish (24 pounds) was caught in the Colorado River - Not Lake Powell. If you have captured a large catfish (5 pounds or better) please enter a picture and the weight from a certified scale in this thread. I will update the lake record information as the posts come in. If you catch a big catfish in the future near Wahweap, I have a certified scale at my office near Stateline Ramp and the Boat Service Center. Call Wayne at 928 645 2392.

Hi Wayne, hope all is well down there! I'm resending our cat pic from last year. Sadly, no idea of the true weight but it maxed out the little fishing scale we had that went to 20 or 25 lbs. (can't recall which) This was in the back of Cedar last October at 1 in the morning...should've kept and weighed it! Take care...

 

[Canyon Gypsy]

Stanton Creek, burnt hotdog

 

[KYKevin]

Nice cat, what did it weigh?

 

[lynntrav4444]

Very nice, man there's some big ones growing

 

[Canyon Gypsy]

No scale at the time. From the crook of my finger to point of my elbow is 15". So, close to 30"???

 

[wayne gustaveson]

No scale at the time. From the crook of my finger to point of my elbow is 15". So, close to 30"???

The recent lake Record was 33 inches long and weighed 18.45 pounds. We are going to have some new lake records this year. If you think your catfish is 19 pounds or more get it weighed on certified scales and send me the info and witness statements. If you want to release the fish then send me the length (and witness). I think the catch and release record is open for the first catfish that some one sends me a picture of the fish on a measuring device. Lets make it at least 30 inches. (Elbow length is not an official measuring device)

 

[Canyon Gypsy]

But a cubit was.

 

[jimmybame]

Cought on a hot dog first catfish and a nice size pretty proud of her