monster catfish

[bottomwatcher]

I was finally able to get the kids into a true monster catfish a few weeks ago. The pictures are not very good at all but you can still get the gist of how truly big this fish was. The kids were great about putting it back and not having to take it home. My little girl was first on the rod and it wore her arms out. what a fun night to have the kids there for something special. The fish was 25 lbs, but the experience was just as fun as landing the brute.

[FishSlayerJT]

Wow that is a monster! Nice fish! Looks like they had fun.
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[sharksugar101]

Wow! Nice.
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[gmwahl]

Congrats! That's the cat that we've been looking for in the catfish contest.
Those kids are gonna remember that forever.

BTW, south of salt lake or north of? Just curious.
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[BRL1]

Great to see kids involved on a really good fish.
Picture was good enough to be the snapshot of the week on KSL Outdoors.
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[CoyoteSpinner]

Toad is insufficient to describe. Toads don't get THAT big! Serious girth on that pup! Did you get a tape measure to it?

Also curious to know - don't want your honeyhole revealed, but what lattitude as gmwahl asked.

Mind sharing, what did you catch it on? Hmmm, night fishing. Please don't tell me a snoopy or princess pole brought that bad boy in!

Well done, and congrats to the kids involvement. Nice to know it's still swimming.
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[Boatloadakids]

Great cat! More info???? Utah I assume? North or south?
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[bottomwatcher]

Thanks for the possitive responses. I am never sure if I should show pictures of the big fish I catch because of a few negative feedbacks that I have seen on other posts. The fish was caught on fresh carp meat( no secrets about fresh meat and how big fish like it fresh) and was caught north of Salt Lake. I ran the boat to get to the spot. We also caught a 12 lb'er the same night, plus a 16 pounder earlier in the summer. It's a big fish spot in late summer. The big ones dont show up till Aug. I didn't put a tape on it but figured it was pushin close to 40.

[Boatloadakids]

Nothin' but positive response here ... and respect for your wanting to keep your spot at least semi-private.

Great fish any way you look at it!

BLK

Oh, and great kids too![]
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[CoyoteSpinner]

[quote Boatloadakids]
Great fish any way you look at it!
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Especially when you look from the North down! teehee

If it was close to 40, you might have held a new catch-n-release record there. The right photos and application. . . , you had your witnesses!
[url "http://wildlife.utah.gov/record-fish.html"]Utah Record Fish[/url]

Maybe it was this bad-girl come back for more love and attention?

Thanks for sharing with us. As BLK said, appreciate your candor in keeping it mum. Big if anyone gives you grief for a post like yours, let me know - I'ma gonna carp slap em!!! [mad]

CATFISH, Channel 04/12/13 36"[inline "36 inch cat first pic.jpg"]

[bottomwatcher]

That's no slouch of a fish there. State catch-and-release record? Like I said I didn't put a tape on it but big is big and still swimming to be caught again. I knew that there was a big fish there and had been trying to hook him again for the last 3 years. It had been a fun experience to target a big fish and finally bring him to the net. Last time I hooked up I hurried a little too fast. This time the kids took over and I let them have at it( I didn't know it was that big until 10 minutes into the fight and 2 kids arms worn out that I finally helped a little). The only thing that I've changed the last few years is I use BIG bait and a hope of 1 or 2 bites a night.( plus a lot of luck)

[gmwahl]

You'll definitely get no negative feedback from me about those big ones......even if you kept it!

I have a couple spots up here that I know have BIG cats hanging in the holes because I've lost them boat side and have never seen anyone fishing those holes. I really hope that no one finds out your spot because it's really nice to have a couple good ones for yourself and no one else.

Thanks for sharing the latitude of the catch with us, it feels good to know that the northern utah waters are world class channel cat waters. I've fished for channel cats all over the USA and that is a giant by any regions standards.
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[pezvela]

Incredible! Congratulations. A true trophy and a job well done.

[Kent]

Wow, what an incredible fish. I would be happy to catch one half that size.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Really cool picture and great fish, thanks for a great story and fun to see some kings are still around. Later J
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