Caught 6 flats and a channel. Most flats were small, but my buddy Tom finally broke his old record for a new personal best. Cedric was along and had some action of his own and we got a nice channel on a bluegill too, but the overwhelming highlight came last, with this one from Tom, a 47 pounder:
and the release…
details in the morning, time to crash!
Way to go Tom!
Monster might not be a big enough word! 
That’s a beauty of a fish. That release shot if fantastic 
That’s one I’d put on the wall (the picture, not the fish 
).
VERY nice fish. Thanks for sharing it with everyone.
Thanks, Bill
WOW
That’s a beast.
Tom this is for you 
Ron
that is unbelievable…with all these flatheads being caught right now, i would almost give it a try with the right conditions. never thought i would say that but fighting something like in the river at night would be a kick.
mwitham
That is an awesome fish
GREAT FISH
I just got a 2006 picture page up on my website. Most are from last night.
A few more details. We got out early but still almost didn’t get enough bait – some dandy sized bluegills were the ticket – just under cleaning-sized. Cedric came along and kept the conversation focused on Star Wars the entire time. He caught a 10 pound carp that fought like a horse. He was pretty excited. Shortly after dark, Tom got his first hit, but it was typical channel – grab, run, drop, then come back in a few minutes to chomp. That was on a good sized bluegill – a little over 10 pounds. We caught a few small flats shortly thereafter, but it wasn’t until nearly eleven that I caught my biggest of the year so far – a nineteen pounder. That convinced us to stay a bit longer, since “they’re getting bigger”. Tom caught about a 4 pounder after that to shatter that idea, and we were pondering packing up soon when Tom got the big boy – he hit just like a big boy would – when he thumped the rod moved a good foot and a half, then it slowly leaned toward the water. Tom could tell right away it was another class of fish from what we’d been catching. It fought in that slow plodding way too – where you just think about momentum and bulk and power. Took awhile to get up from under the boat to have a look at.
Great night for everyone, we all caught our biggest fish of the year!
Happy Hunting,
Matt
Ah yes, the ominous ‘thump’. Reminds me of Jaws for some reason!
“We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Nice fish guys!
I have been having trouble hooking into larger fish myself this year.. if I want to see big fish caught I have to take Sherry along! 
Nice fish, Matt. Thanks for the details on the catch, it helps when we are considering our own game plans. I plan on hitting it hard next week – hopefully I will be posting some good pics.
Great web site
Thank you
Last night treated us pretty good also. My girlfriend caught here biggest flat 28 lbs! about 15 minutes later I had one give me one of them hits you dream of. Just like you said Matt. It zipped about 2 feet of line right out and then sat there just chewing it felt like. I gave it the hook but it let loose after about a minute. Sure was pulling alot harder than the 28 
I think the fish may have been facing me yet when I set the hook. Lessons learned 
Great fish and great web site.I’am trying to learn from all the info from this web site to try this cattin stuff myself, looks like it would be a blast. 
I just figured out that Tom’s fish is a testament to the value of catch and release. I was perusing some old photos on a hunch and it turns out another friend caught this fish two years ago:
At that time it was a 40 pounder.
Cool!
Love this quote from your website:
Regarding giant cats –
“Ultimately, he’ll dominate the kind of hole that monsters seldom leave, except to spawn. He just sits down there and packs on the pounds as whatever attributes his hole has attract him a steady supply of bass or some such baitfish. “
Hahahahahahahaha! Should post this on the bass forum!
Quote:
I just figured out that Tom’s fish is a testament to the value of catch and release. I was perusing some old photos on a hunch and it turns out another friend caught this fish two years ago:
At that time it was a 40 pounder.
Cool!
How do you know it was the same fish? Did he say he recognized you?
Congrats Tom!!! He’s been paying his dues for a long time now. Bout time the “teacher” catches up with the “student”……
do you use live sunfish?
Wow! That’s all I can say.
What a beautiful fish and great photos too. Congrats on a job well done, Tom!
Nice Fish Mate!
thanks
Larry
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