Below is the Video of the 45lb fish being released.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=S9N67fxb6Kk
Once again I had the pleasure of Fishing with my partner Dtro in the Moore’s Contest, out of Moore’s Bait and Tackle This is the 4th out of 5 contests this season for Catfish. There were approximately 16 particepants in this contest, on a very interesting night to say the least.
Everyone was wondering how the bite was going to be with the recent rains. Friday night from shakopee to St.Paul recieved approximately 2.5 inches of rain. With more in the forecast for Sat evening with the possibility for some sever weather we were hopeful that this would be a trigger for big fish.
The night started out miserably hot. The only time you felt relief was when you were motoring in between spots. Otherwise the humidity was stiffeling. Our goal was to hit some new spots and fall back on honey holes if they didn’t produce.
As fate would have it we found at least 1 new honey hole maybe two and didn’t have to use the fall backs. (It was a very active night for bumps, missed runs and excited baits)
about an hour after getting set up the weather started to turn. The marine radio was listing more sever weather warnings than I could count from up north from St. Cloud to South of Red Wing. As it approached, we battened down the hatches and donned the foul weather gear. (which was even more miserable till the Monsoon hit.) It was a bit a deja vu for us, last year we weathered a similar storm during a contest to pull some nice fish.
While the rain was pouring we could barely keep a bait in the water, with out getting smacked. Its fun but not easy when you have use cooler lids to keep from getting pecked by the hail. We debated seeking safety at one point but the threat of lightning was low, so we stayed put for the time being.
Once the storm moved on it was relief. The air was much cooler and drier. Things were a little damp but over all a beautiful clear night with the start of the Persied meteor show. (I probably saw over 2 dozen shooting stars)
Over all we boated close 6 channels ranging from 3-10 lbs
and one of Minnesota Rivers Finest……. A 45inch length by 30inch Girth Tipping the scales at 45LBs. My personal Best and the largest I’ve seen netted on the MN river. (I was glad I made a wish on one of those shooting stars)
Overall the majority of the participants would have classified the bite as slow. A few nice channels were caught, but only 2 Flatheads out of a field of 16 is a little on the slim side. The weather was the probable factor. We needed the rain, but that is a lot to get in two consecutive nights.
very very nice!
Thanks for the video. 
Lost my job and my fiance told me to take a hike all within 2 weeks of each other back in the spring and I am now just getting myself back on track. I have been lurking from time to time, glad to see things haven’t changed here too much 
I am back to work and FINALLY getting back to fishing, thank the stars above 
Pug- You’re ready to see the tides change, right? 
All joking aside-I have missed way to much fun this year from the way it sounds. 