New Personal Best Catfish and Boat Record!!

Wheeler Lake - Browns Ferry

Time: 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Air Temperature: 26 - 35 during trip
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 551.64

Weather Conditions: Cold, clear. Winds North 12 MPH.

I love cold weather fishing and after an unseasonably warm couple of weeks, we had a cold snap.  I bought a couple dozen jumbo shiners and decided to head to the nuclear plant to see what I could catch.  I never got into the stripers this winter, so I was hoping for them or large cats on live bait.

I didn't get into the stripers, but I found the big cats!! My first fish hit hard and I immediately realized I had a whopper when it began spooling drag as fast as it could.  Current was pulling strong and between the size of the fish and the current, it was quite a battle.  As soon as it breached, I realized it was HUGE.

I grabbed my new Trophy Haul net and went to the back of the boat and went in for the scoop.  I broke my new Trophy Haul net... but I managed to land this fish!

This fish by far dwarfs my prior personal best.  My previous PB was a 62 lb flathead I caught when I was a kid that measured 48" long.  This fish measured 53-1/2" long.  My scale was not cooperating, but according to the length/weight charts, this fish likely weighed about 72 lbs.  I can attest that seems spot on.  

My day did not end there... the next fish was probably in the 30 lbs range and the next fish after that was a flathead weight near 15 lbs. 

I think I only ended up with 4 fish total, but it was an amazing day full of big cats.  I'll never forget this one.