SURPRISE

The night before gun deer opener, my friend and his gf thought we would go out and catch some eye for supper and we started to get into some eye and had 5 or 6 in the boat, so we though we would try another spot since every tom dick and harry decided to anchor where we were and it wasn’t 2 minutes before my friend got into a snag in this spot. We got it out and then we went back up and started our drift, then i got what i thought was a snag at almost the same spot thinking it was a tree, i started to jerk and try to unfree my jig. after about 10 seconds i was leaning down to give a big ole jerk, and all of a sudden it took off. if i didn’t have a fighting drag i would have lost my rod or the line would have snapped. i faught him for about 15 minutes as he workd his way towards the channel and i was running the motor shasing him backwards.a barge was coming so my fight was either going to end by me or i had to get this fish out of the channel, finally i had got the motor on the other side and he didn’t like that to well and i chased him back into the shore.i had him in about 12 feet of water, this was about 45 minutes later on 6 pound test stren gold line and a st croix rod. for every6 inches i lifted him he dove another 3 feet. my friend was finally not ammused by this anymore and started casting off the other end of the boat. his gf was interested and wanted to see this fish. the whole time i was saying outloud i just want to see it, that is all. well i knew this fish was getting close to the top, and bubbles came up about 5 feet long. my friend saw this and said oh man it is like 5 feet long, sarcastically. then about 20 seconds later we saw it, it looked prehistoric, it was at least 5 feet long and was a ugly flathead catfish. he was huge, and was tired. all he did was just lay at the top, he had actually bit my jig. we had no net and this was the first fish ever that i have seen my friend to scared to grab his gf was at the front of the boat all scared. he was on top for 5 minutes and we finally devised a plan my friend took off his shirt and was about to stic it through its mouth through its gill and we would get him in the boat that way, well that fish said this [censored] was enough took off the jig popped out and there we stood in awe as a 100 pound + catfish went back down to the bottom of the river

How do you know that it was over a hundred pds??? I know that there are a lot of big cts i the sytem but over a hundred is bigger that most state records even in the south…..don’t think I am doubting your story cause I’m not….. but I am (9 months out of the year) a catfish nut…. and I know that poeple that hook into a big cat can really be surprised …… do you fish for big flats…….

I don’t know about this. It sounds like some [censored for unknown reasons] to me. I fish cats year round and would highly doubt that you could get a 100# flat to the surface on Stren line. What state were you in? Like mavzer said, how do you know it was 100#’s. I’m not buying any of this [censored] [censored] -broken[censored]knuckles

I’ve only gotten to catfish once (Thanks Lance and Chris!) but even without cat knowledge, it sounds hard to swallow. I’ve seen big fish under 25# that would make you snap your lite rod before you’d ever roll ’em and 6# test will usually break before a rod will – – – – usually. And, I’ve never known anyone to steer a fish with the boat. Not impossible, just improbable, especially with 6# line. If a fish that size wants to get away from your boat, it will.

that is the only thing, i never got a pic of it and I know it is hard to believe, a lot of people say it is hard to believe the only thing is is that the three of us that were out there know what we saw. I know that it was at least 90+ because i have seen a pond raised 76 pound catfish several times and this thing was longer and fatter than that one. it was below the alma damn, about 200 yards off the warm discharge. it is hard to believe but it is the truth. any other ?’s for me

wow!! I have heard story’s about BIG cat’s from below the dams…. Good know that there are cats that big swimming around in our area…. a catman’s fantasy…… I was just curiose to know if you had any experience estimating the sizes of them….. thanks for the story…. sounds awsome

I’ve heard some “Stories” from some people from the DNR that I have talked to about scuba divers that have dived on these dams to do repairs, and have been told of big cats as long as 6 ft or larger. Always thought they were stories, but now I may think a little differently!!!……the “Stories” I’ve heard ALL have pertained to the dam in ALMA!!!!

Steve Vicks you were with the DNR. Ever here of Anything such as?

No, I haven’t heard of too many Swany….Just the two I released over a 100!! Thats about it. Actually I haven’t seen any proof of it, but i’ve heard the same stories everybody else has. Who knows what swims in the waters of the Missisippi!!!

These same stories were being told when the newer I 94 bridge at Hudson was built. The divers said if people knew of the size of the fish there , they would never swim in the river again.

I think that every catfishermen has heard one of those stories. Flatheads are surprisingly huge fish to people that don’t see them to often. In most cases I believe that non-regulars that catch one are so impressed by their sheer size that these crazy claims come out about how much they weigh. I do believe that because of the Minnesota and Wis. management practices that there are 100 lb fish swimming in these waters. We don’t have the trot-line and jug-line, etc that take huge numbers of cats and take away from rod and reel catfishing in general. But please once that 100 lber is caught do me a favor, get a picture.

I may not be able to catch one, but Google surely can:

http://clubcatfish.com/catfish-photo/photo1.html

Also thought these looked interesting:

Catfish Kills Angler

Giant Catfish Urban Legends

Iowa allows trotlining, jug fishing, and bank-poles. I’ve never heard of anyone taking a monster, though. Usually the baits are too small and the big boys could just break off. Seems like every few years someone is still in the paper with a genuine biggun.

Gianni, I am a student at Iowa State and have tried my hand down there for flatheads. I just seemed that everywhere that I went there was a setline of some sort. There are some big fish in Iowa don’t get me wrong. I do some fishing on the Des Moines river and just get frustrated at times. I heard the Iowa river has some?

Usually finding set lines and trotlines is a rare occurrence for me. There must be more people down there who take advantage of it.

Most of the real hogs that get printed every year come from the Iowa, DesMoines, and Skunk rivers from what I remember, with an occasional entry from the Wapsi or the Cedar. I’ve never done any exploring on the Skunk or the DesMoines, but I do a lot of fishing for channels at Coralville, and used to fish a lot by the bridge to the north of the I380/694 crossing. That bridge is closed now, but someone told me it was still a hot place to fish. The road is still there, but the bridge is closed off (may have even been removed), I haven’t been down there in years.

When Coralville is at summer pool level, I’ve had good luck catching decent sized channel cats on the big sand flat right east of the interstate bridge along the south shore. Some guys claim big flats hang out below the tube outlet, but I’ve never targeted them since they would probably break all my tackle into tiny pieces and then sink my boat.

I was from Iowa but now I live in Mn. I know that the Wapsi up from Littleton to Troy mills has produced some nice cats. There a alot of trot lines in the water through that area. According to a guy I know down there he says that he has his best luck using trot lines. He also said that (like Gianni just said) that Coralville does produce some nice cats. Right when the ice breaks in the spring is when he goes down there to fish for them. Usually wioth cutbait.

Thanks fellas I am going to have to try coralville in the spring. That might be a good catch. I wonder if there is even ice out there this year. I haven’t been down there since the middle of december and there was barely any ice. I would much rather fish cats up here but when you have to be down there Coralville just might be the best place. Thanks again for the info and if you guys are ever down in Iowa I am always looking for a fishing partner (until May). Cyclone

There are a few pretty good stretches on the Wapsi for cats. Independence to Quasqueton is a good float. I’ve heard people claim to catch some walleyes in there as well, but I have yet to verify it (only tried once, though).

MacBride is loaded with cats also, although the size probably won’t be as good as Coralville. I’ve caught some decent fish from the Cedar, but never as consistently as the reservoir. Get to Coralville early in the morning, or the power-boats will severly hamper your fishing. I would recommend late afternoon, but a lot of times there are serious power rigs running for the ramps at blazing speeds in the pitch dark, usually drunk as a skunk. The key is to get out while those people are still sleeping off their hangover.

I’d bet that the ‘ville is iced over. MacBride had about 10 inches last weekend, and even if it was open, I would worry about ice flows coming down river.

I lived in Independence last year before I relocated to Waterloo. I’ve caught some nice eyes out of that stretch of river. The northern and bass are pretty thick in their as well. The dams at Littleton, Independence, Quasqueton, and Troy Mills are excellent places to fish. This stretch of river anually produces some 10lb eyes. The DNR stocks this section heavily. Catfish are very numerous throughout this area and is probably the most numerous sprecie of fish in this area. Just find the deeper holes (if you can) and you will have an excellent time.

Jim L

Thanks, Jim! My uncle used to float from Independence to Quasqueton and just wail on the catfish. He could regularly bring home a limit, with the biggest of the bunch being 12lbs or more. I’ve been fishing the dam at Quasky since I was about 5, but have never had much luck. Caught a couple of good Northerns there last year one day using cranks. Typically lots of fiddler catfish and small bass below the concrete dam. The water gets pretty deep below the rock dam, so I would guess that might be a better place to fish, but poorer access. Maybe this spring I’ll bust out the waders and give it another shot.

‘Clone, the Central City area has always been really good to me for cats. Never caught squat in the park, but both north and south have produced good catches.

I think that I am going to try all of these places. My semster is really light and I am looking for some other spots than the ones that I have been trying. Gianni it always seems that you are battling something down there if it is the power boats or something else. Both you and Jim have gave me more than a couple spots that I am going to have to try. Thanks for the info fellas

Go to independence and try fishing abov ethe old baitshop just as you come into town from the south. My uncle now runs that place and does canoe rentals from there also. Out behind the baitshop is a good place to fish for cats and crappie. There is a big hole in between the boat launch and the rock steps. Right around 12 feet if I remember right. My uncle use to grab the dead minnows and toss out a rig into the hole and catch a couple of cats that way. One day he fought a fish for about 20 min and finally the line broke. He never changes his line unless it is all used up. Also look up stream from there and look at the bend. The inside of that bend use to be excellent for cats. Gianni, the water below that rock dam in Quasky is only 3 or 4 feet deep. Try a couple hundred yards downstream to find some deeper water. One more thing, if you can get down the river from Inde to Quasky by boat there is a 30′ + hole at one of the bends. This is really a great spot to go to.

Give em a try

Jim L

Jim I have a good idea where you are talking about. You guys are giving tons of spots thank you. I am going to have to try there. It is going to be much better than the spots on the Des Monies that I try.

So long as we’re on the subject of the Wapsi, does anyone still pike fish above Independence? I remember going to sweet marsh years ago with a guy and yanking some gators out on tip-ups, but we were there last week and it was a real mess. The smaller lake was drained, yet still uncrossable due to a remaining flow that was too wide to jump, too deep to walk across. We spent about 3 hours searching the bigger lake for deep water, and finally found a hole where the dike(sp?) had washed out, but still never caught a fish.

I’ve read that the Wapsi is the only interior river to support a naturally reproducing pike population, but judging by my scorecard, you sure wouldn’t know it.

A person can do very well fishing above Inde for Pike and bass. Take the gravel roads from Littleton to Inde while finding bridges that intersect the river. There is one in particular that comes to mind. It is a newly constructed bridge right next to the Inde gun club. Fish the east side. There is a deep hole right next to the bank around 8 feet or so. I’ve caught some pike and bass from this area. This might be an excellent area to try ice fishing although i have never tried it there.

As for fishing above Littleton on the Wapsi; I have never tried it. I really wanted to but something always came up. I’ve really only fished Sweets a few times this past year. Caught some nice pike and bass though. Below the damn on the north side is a good place to start. Otherwise try fishing the water holding above the damn. This past summer I seen a couple of older fellows doing pretty well throwing out chubs on bobbers and hooking into the pike right from shore. Another place to go would be Big Marsh. Fish the outlets at the marsh when they are really dumping all the extra water out of the marsh. This excess water allows the bass and pike to move up to the outlets from the Cedar river. And when the water clears up a guy can actually see the bass swimming in the waters. A lot of big bass swim there also. Some 4lb – 5lb smallies are caught every year from here. Just work all 3 outlets on the south side and you will do well. If you like bullheads, bring along some worms and you will be in heaven. I even caught bullheads on the Berkley Powerworms this past summer at the outlets. You can just sit there and feel them things nibble away at your bait.

Hope this helps—Good Luck

Jim L

Thanks for the good info, Jim. I used to fish the hookie bridge with my grandfather when I was a kid. Back then it was an old iron bridge. Since it has been rebuilt, I’ve only fished it once or twice and never done too well. Used to be the channel was pretty deep on the East side of the river under the bridge. The backwater that they added on the North side of the road is deep enough that it should hold some fish in the spring, so maybe I’ll give that a try once it thaws a little bit. The South side of the road just East of the river is an excellent place to spear or bowfish for carp in the spring.