7 replies to this topic

[SnickASaurusRex]

Today I was out at James A Reed in Lee's Summit Missouri, and my wife drove out to get lunch. We forgot to pack it. Anyway, I was board waiting for her to return and I was jigging a size 12 bead headed san juan just playing with the blue gill. Then Woomp Whoomp something took me out to 50 yards of backing. Strip, strip, wind, wind. I got it back in, the sun was in front so I couldn't see it. Zoom it took me deep into my backing again. This happened three times. before I got it in. I was on 8x tippet and the wife had the net in the car. I finally grabbed this monster by her tail and lugged it in. A 3 pound 20 inch channel cat.

Good Gravy. I thought I had caught the devil.

[JSzymczyk]

a 3-pound cat took you 50 yards into the backing? Wow. I think cats on fly rod are a super bonus species.

[Steve P]

Done that a handful of times, actually done it once in Coot and once in.... Tangle wood or branch or something to do with tangle and fibrous plants. You should give it a try in some of the smaller feeder for the MO, take big giant (#4 or #2) green, black, brown, or yellow woolly buggers heavily weighted and drift them in the stumps and brush near the banks and creek mouths. Hold on tight and have some bigger gear, so far our group record is an eleven pound flathead on an 8wt...... it took a bit to get him landed but man it was fun.


Steve

[SnickASaurusRex]

Yeah that became my new favorite CA today. They'll know me by name down there by the end of summer.

[jschmidt63]

thats a killer story.

I have had LMB in the 5-8 lb range suck in sunnies I had on fly and scare the crap out of me but never a cat.

I have caught a few nice cat when targeting sunnies and bass. So much so now I look for them, in the spring especially.


one from last summer caught on a redfish fly.

[lykos33]

Shhhhh don't tell anyone here how good eating a catfish is...around here catfish are considered trash (snobs only want trout or salmon) and on the salt side they curse "flatfish", what we would call flounder in the South. Kinda funny that they detest "flatfish" but will pay top dollar for halibut in the market....duh

[Kirk Dietrich]

I have caught quite a few incendentally while fishing bluegill with my Squirrelly, a squirrel tail hair fly tied on a #10 nymph hook with gold bead chain and they are usually in the 2 - 4 lb range.
This one I was fishing my white Cyclops for bass on a 5wt rod. Not sure how big it was but it bottomed out a 15lb boga grip.
Having a fish go into backing is rarely an indication of the fish's size. A light tippet, poor drag on a reel, river currents that may be carrying the fish, etc. will all pull your drag out. Great catch though, congratulations.
Kirk

[TheCream]

You know, when you tell people you once caught an albino channel cat on a fly rod, you have to have a pic to back it up.



I've caught them several times, just the one from that pond was an albino. I have caught 2 in the last week while bass/crappie fishing with the fly rod. Both of them were small, though. I've accidentally hooked some good ones swinging streamers in rivers for smallies, and several in ponds while stripping streamers for bass. They always put up a great fight!