59 lbs Flathead and 29 inch Walleye

By Brian Klawitter 0

I love taking out first time flatheaders…and though IDA member Dan Thiem from Zumbro Falls is a very good river fisherman…he’s never targeted flatheads before.

Tonight I would say Dan had a good trip. Here he is with his first ever flathead…all 59.65 pounds of her!

But there’s more! Read on about his largest…”rough fish”!

Dan and I launch out of Evert’s Resort on P4. It was another beautiful MN summer night. We arrived at our first spot a little on the late side…for me, but with Dan mastering the baiting, we had our bullheads swimming around in no time.

We were set up with my standard flathead rigging. The Gamakatsu 10/0 hooks (model 2020) 80# leader, 110 pound swivel, 4oz no-roll sinker attached to the Garcia 7000 with more 80# PowerPro. We had a few minutes to talk before I notice the bullhead in 2 feet of water start to act …well…funny. About the time I was going to say…”watch that rod”, the custom St. Croix made my Mike Fisher from Hooked on Fishing took a nice dip….

“There’s a fish” I yelled! Dan picked up the rod and set the hook like he was going to stop a freight train. Just a few moments later, we had this girthy 29 inch walleye up to the boat for a measurement and a couple photo’s prior to the release.

What a beautiful fish! Here’s Dan releasing his new personal best walleye… I have to say..when she came up to the surface and Dan saw what it was…I could actually hear the hairs on Dan’s neck stand up! I told him to settle down…we were out her to catch BIG fish not walleyes!

Funny thing is that I didn’t expect to catch a walleye in this spot. It looked like a great cat spot…so I’m thinking this guy was just confused… Never had a cat run there and we ARE Trophy Catfishing Adventures… we moved on.

Our next stop wasn’t too far away and where the piggy came from. I really don’t recall what Dan was yapping about when I heard the tell tail short burst from the clicker…then, with just a short hesitation that clicker went into SIREN MODE! I’ve NEVER seen line come off a spool that fast!!! Instinct guided me through picking up the rod, thumbing the spool, turning off the clicker and handing the rod to Dan in a split second. The only real thing I remember is thinking I was going to be spooled in a very short time! I remember saying to Dan very calmly…”CRANK THE HANDLE AND SET THE HOOK!!!!”…. well, as calmly as a fella can when your mind is on being spooled into wood…. :whistle:

Dan followed the instructions that I gave him prior to fishing like a pro…set the hook with the rod tip high to yank the fish out of any wood on the bottom and reel in with the rod high for the same reason. I was moving rods out of the way as fast as I could…and grabbing the net when the monster surfaced the first time. I didn’t see it..but it sounded …well…BIG!

When she came up top…I knew she was going over 50…I knew this because I was really worried that she wouldn’t fit into the net…turns out there wasn’t much room left over.

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Brian Klawitter

• First Person to be Knighted at the Spam Museum by Sir Can a Lot. • Founded The Minnesota Catfish and Sturgeon Alliance. • Networked to change the MN's Bullhead Bait length laws for Catfish Anglers • Networked to allow the use of cast Full Bio ›

0 Comments

  1. We got a few pictures and Dan held on to his first ever Flathead to ensure she was happy in the water…and she smiled and went off to the murky depths.

    We caught a few other fish…not really worth mentioning.

    Thanks Dan! I’m glad I was able to meet you in person and to shake your hand…even if it was filled with cat slime!

  2. Big cats and big walleyes all in one night. Sounds like a lot of fun!

    Congratulations on a couple of fine looking fish!

    JWB

  7. Let me retrieve my jaw from the floor. Nice fish guys! Keep this up Brian and the next state record might be coming from your boat.

  9. Good God! Nice fish. If that’s how you do the night after fishing with me, you’re going to have to start paying me to go along with you!

  10. WOW! Nice fish Dan!

    I think it would be safe to say Dan will be back for more.

    Brian- I agree with mplspug. Keep up the good work. You truly are DA MAN

    Oh yea- nice “rough” fish too!

  17. Awesome fish Dano. What a great trip. Heck of a deal. Brian really knows his cats and “roughies”

    I’m jealous!

  19. Holy Christ! Nice fish.

    That’s as good of a cat as I’ve seen in MN. Beauty!

    Looks like you might know what you’re doing Brian!

    Best eye, best cat, what a night.

  20. JC…you were thinking along the same lines as I! (don’t worry , it’s not terminal

    Earlier this year I wanted to take a 26+ inch eye and place it in a flat mouth…with hookless PowerPro coming out of the flats mouth..

    It would have made great spoof photo…although I would have been a little worried about a visit from our friendly CO’s.

    That 29 was the second largest walleye this year, all on bullheads…go figure. 16 eyes in the boat this year with the smallest being just a hair short of 25 inches…

    Heck, when I was targeting them a few short years ago…I couldn’t buy a 23 inch eye…get me into cats and I can’t keep them dang things off the 10/0 Gamis!

    …and what the heck are they doing in flathead water??

    The good thing with this eye was when Dan released it, it didn’t take much revival and speed away very healthy.

    Ps…for those of you that made the comment…I know what I’m doing…boy do I have you hoodwinked! That guy was more of a surprise to me than it was to Dan!

  21. Nice fish Dan! Its all downhill from here! You will never look at another fish the same again.

    Brian is getting pretty good about finding these catfish… either that or he is the most lucky person on earth!

    Good job guys

  23. Thank you everybody. But, I really have mixed feelings. Sure I am filled with great satisfaction, but I also feel a bit bad too. That was my first flathead bigger than 7 pounds. So all the hard work and time that all you “true” catfish guys put into this awesome sport and haven’t got one that big, I feel kind of sorry in a way. Hard to explain I guess. Guilty maybe? I don’t know.

    All I know is I let out the biggest yell when that thing came into the boat. Screamed so loud I think my wife heard me all the way back home. Man I was excited. My hands still shake at the thought of it. When I woke up this morning I thought it must have been a dream. Then I realized it. I just experienced the equivalent of winning the powerball. Only better.

    So to you Brian, I owe you a world of thanks and gratitude. You are my hero dude!


  25. Quote:

    You are my hero dude!

    Dan..we need to talk!

    I forgot about the yell! I know the barge in the lock thought it was the lockmaster sounding the horn for them to leave the lock!

    Chris, she was my largest…”so far”!

  26. Awesome Fish Dan. If that isn’t ‘Catfish Hunter’ from the movie Grumpier Old Men nothing is.

    Andy

  27. Don’t feel bad, remember now you will try to figure them out for the rest of you life and wish you could catch a 7lber.

    I have to beat the 33lb I caught with Brian a few weeks ago. I think this weekend is the time.

  28. Nice work guys. That is a very nice fish. How many pounds is that over your personal best Brian? Must’ve been hard to hand the rod over.

  31. How long did it take you to land that fish? I hooked into a monster yesterday evening fishing with willow cats and I fought that beast for almost an hour and a half. I wasn’t using any heavy gear like you but I was putting so much pressure on that fish and could barely get it to come off the bottom. I thought it would tire after a while but I was wrong. We just followed it around it the boat staying right on top of it untill my 20lb power pro finally gave out. I dont know how big it was but it felt like it was about the size of a small car.

  32. From what I hear Dan is still shaking and has a grin as big as the Mississippi. Thanks for giving him the night of a lifetime Brian. Its VERY plain to see that Brians catfish guide service is where dreams come true.

    Thanks, Bill

  33. Tim,

    I’m guessing about 10 minutes. We pulled her in pretty “green”.

    With the drag tightened down on a Garcia 7000 and “coat hanger) size Gamakatsu hook…and of course 80 pound power pro….it’s really a direct fight between the angler and the fish.

    I like to have the angler try to pull the PowerPro out of the lock down reel…then when they see line being pulled out of the drag…they can really appriciate the power of these fish!

    Bill, Dan was the second customer that was…pooped on by a cat…and smiled…even laughed!

  34. Brian- Those are amazing fish- just let me know when you want your boat to get a 60+….and I’ll come catch her!!

    Great report and photos!!

  38. TTT

    Lets see if anyone is going to break last years best! I think there is a very good chance it will we have a lot of great catters (and um walleye guys out there)

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