Lucky Ben…

My nephew continues to have a great year. Last night we went out and fished wood along the edge of the main channel and he wound up with this one:

It hit the bluegill ten feet from the boat, fought like crazy, took him into a snag (which he was completely hung up in for about five minutes), and weighed in at 45 pounds. Ben did really well with him – horsed him when he was out too far and let him work himself out of the snag when the time came for that… he didn’t get too down when he got in the wood. I loosened the anchors until we were directly over him and somehow or another he came out. So far Ben’s got a 23,25,37, and now a 45 this year. He’s focused on my personal best, and he’s closing in fast!

Here’s another coupla pics:

Awesome!! Great fish.

Nice fish, Matt. These are great pictures – I think you have the young man pretty well hooked on catfishing.

Do you slice up the bluegill, or use him whole?

Joe, flats love lively struggling bait….although once in a while you’ll get one on cut bait. (hmmm, my neighbors house cat..that runs all over the place is lively and would be stuggleing)

Great pics of a fantastic fish! Kinda makes my eyes well up…(after last night )

Looks and sounds like luck has very little to do with this young mans success! (filled with root beer of course)

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Joe, flats love lively struggling bait….although once in a while you’ll get one on cut bait. (hmmm, my neighbors house cat..that runs all over the place is lively and would be stuggleing)

Great pics of a fantastic fish! Kinda makes my eyes well up…(after last night )

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A teacher at my school jokes about useing his wifes annoying chiwawa (sp?) for Musky bait. Lets say she didnt like it to much.

Joe…chawawawwasass (Sp?) are generally too small for flathead bait…tell her not to worry….

Hey Matt…I’ll take him out!!!

Jason

I’m thinking that you would have to do it when Catgirl wasn’t looking…..

We can fish three out of the ‘ark especially when that third one is like a walking talking rabbit’s foot!!

aw man…. .that kid is layin the smackdown on nice flatheads this year! way to go!!

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We can fish three out of the ‘ark especially when that third one is like a walking talking rabbit’s foot!!

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…lol………. on teh other end of the spectrum, i think i would be comparable to a black cat with a busted mirror in my tacklebox.

Mudcat…so that’s where my tackle box is! My wife said I should move the ladder so I don’t have to walk under it to get into my boat.

I was going to make post this morning about the cold fronts effecting catfishing….but when I saw the flats above I decided to look for the voodoo doll that resembles me…

FlatheadWI,

What pound test do you use?

YOU….on the other hand, don’t come anywhere near my boat!!!

…lol………. on teh other end of the spectrum, i think i would be comparable to a black cat with a busted mirror in my tacklebox.

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Good guiding, It’s fun fishing with someone who get’s it!! Lucky bugger!!

Welcome to IDA flatlander2000

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FlatheadWI,

What pound test do you use?

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I have 100lb Whiplash on the rig that caught that one and most of my rigs, and 80lb Power Pro on another. Sounds like overkill until you start fishing right in the wood.

Welcome to the board Flatlander! You are so right! When I take my wife and daughter out…I don’t touch a rod unless I’m pulling in a tree or rebaiting…It is more fun to me to watch them experiance a flathead…not that we’ve got into anything close to the above…but the biggest fish they’ve landed in the past was a few 5 lbs eyes and a 12 muskie….trash fish that don’t put up much of a fight….

My daughters black and blue marks from her 11 lbs flathead are just about gone….time to get her out again!

What region are you from?

Well Briank, I’m from the Lacrosse region. I often times fish with Matt, Flatheadwi.I’ve been a flatheader for many years. we all know ounce you pull a monster flat out off the water your life has been changed!!

Not sure if he’d want me to, but I’m posting a pic of flatlander2000 titled “Fireman rescues kitty from blaze” (yes I had too much time on my hands). It’s from a coupla years ago. He’s the one who taught me how to fish and guided me to my personal best catfish (47lb flat). If he got out more, you’d see his mug instead of the nephew, but he’s a busy man.

Here he is:

Ha HAAA! Matt, that’s good enough to make the LaCrosse paper!

Did the Red Cross come to help it find a home after the fire?

From Winona, MN. — so you have me hooked again. The fishing can be so slow, but you are right, no Muskie or other species, excepting perhaps Carp fights like a Flathead.