88 Pound Catfish Caught in Tennessee

[Sam]

Did anyone out there see this article about a lady who caught an 88 pound catfish earlier this month on Kentucky Lake?

 

https://wtkr.com/2019/01/02/woman-reels-in-88-pound-monster-catfish/

 

What an accomplishment.

 

Congrats on the catch.

 

And she released it so it is out there for someone else to catch.

 

 

[roadwarrior]

Certainly a great fish, but nothing close to a record. 100+ is the standard for a "Monster".

 

BTW, I'm not in the hunt, but my PB is 48 lbs on the Mighty Mississippi literally in downtown

Memphis.  My best buddy, Speedy Madewell, landed 43 lbs while we were smallmouth fishing

on Pickwick: MF spinning tackle and #4 Yo-Zuri Hybrid.

 

[TnRiver46]

Wow. That’s a beast!!!

[fishballer06]

On 1/25/2019 at 7:23 PM, roadwarrior said:

My best buddy, Speedy Madewell, landed 43 lbs while we were smallmouth fishing

on Pickwick: MF spinning tackle and #4 Yo-Zuri Hybrid.

That's like an hour of his life that he'll never get back ?

[NYWayfarer]

On ‎1‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 7:23 PM, roadwarrior said:

Certainly a great fish, but nothing close to a record. 100+ is the standard for a "Monster".

 

BTW, I'm not in the hunt, but my PB is 48 lbs on the Mighty Mississippi literally in downtown

Memphis.  My best buddy, Speedy Madewell, landed 43 lbs while we were smallmouth fishing

on Pickwick: MF spinning tackle and #4 Yo-Zuri Hybrid.

 

Speedy Madewell, that's quite a name.

 

If that were my name I would become a tire manufacturer or create a fast food franchise.

[roadwarrior]

He was a General Contractor, but the name went back to when he was a kid.  

"Madewell" was his real family name.

5 hours ago, fishballer06 said:

That's like an hour of his life that he'll never get back ?

He was my best friend, but he is in Heaven now.

[NYWayfarer]

4 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

He was a General Contractor, but the name went back to when he was a kid.  

"Madewell" was his real family name.

He was my best friend, but he is in Heaven now.

Sorry for your loss. Such a cool name.

[soflabasser]

Congratulations to her for catching the 88 pound blue catfish. That is a bigger fish than the biggest fish most midwestern fishermen have caught in their lifetimes.

[fishballer06]

17 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

He was a General Contractor, but the name went back to when he was a kid.  

"Madewell" was his real family name.

He was my best friend, but he is in Heaven now.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. Losing a best friend must be hard, and losing a fishing buddy had to be even harder. God bless.

[Sam]

1 hour ago, fishballer06 said:

 

I'm sorry to hear that. Losing a best friend must be hard, and losing a fishing buddy had to be even harder. God bless.

Yes, I lost Jim Kerr to lung cancer. He would not stop smoking, even with the oxygen mask and container.

 

He was a great guy; a fantastic guide on the Historic James and Chickahominy Rivers and Lake Chesdin. We caught many beautiful bass together fishing out of his boat.

 

Really miss him and he has been gone for ten years.

[TnRiver46]

20 hours ago, soflabasser said:

Congratulations to her for catching the 88 pound blue catfish. That is a bigger fish than the biggest fish most midwestern fishermen have caught in their lifetimes.

I’ve heard there’s some monsters in the Midwest in the Mississippi . 

[soflabasser]

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve heard there’s some monsters in the Midwest in the Mississippi . 

There are some huge blue and flathead catfish in the Midwest but most Midwesterners have not caught a 88 pound fish like this lady did. 

[Bluebasser86]

42 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

There are some huge blue and flathead catfish in the Midwest but most Midwesterners have not caught a 88 pound fish like this lady did. 

I'm working on it.

[redmeansdistortion]

On 1/28/2019 at 10:21 PM, soflabasser said:

Congratulations to her for catching the 88 pound blue catfish. That is a bigger fish than the biggest fish most midwestern fishermen have caught in their lifetimes.

The only thing we have that comes close is Lake Sturgeon.  In my state they are very protected and the season is extremely limited.  

[Oregon Native]

Have caught a couple sturgeon pushing ten ft......OMG....fight light Volkswagens 

[TnRiver46]

Another kid got an 80 lb in Lenoir City

[CharlieTN]

I started catfishing last summer here on Watts Bar Lake in East Tennessee.  Two summers ago a gentleman pulled out a 98lber from just above the dam.  My best so far is 33 lbs (seen in my profile pic).  The potential is what makes the wait so exciting.  I’ve landed everything from 1 lb to 33 lbs out of the same 64’ deep hole.  

[TnRiver46]

23 hours ago, CharlieTN said:

I started catfishing last summer here on Watts Bar Lake in East Tennessee.  Two summers ago a gentleman pulled out a 98lber from just above the dam.  My best so far is 33 lbs (seen in my profile pic).  The potential is what makes the wait so exciting.  I’ve landed everything from 1 lb to 33 lbs out of the same 64’ deep hole.  

Don’t be afraid to fish shallow for big cats either!

[Bluebasser86]

5 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Don’t be afraid to fish shallow for big cats either!

Little fish live shallow, big fish eat big fish

 

I know it's a different part of the country, but here the deep water bite is more a dead of winter bite. Sometimes they have just enough water to cover their backs. The one I'm sitting down holding in my pictures was in <4' of water in the middle of the day in the summer. 

[TnRiver46]

I don’t catch any super monsters like y’all but I have caught some big ones and they sometimes surprise me with how shallow they get on a mud flat, especially when it’s hot. We usually set jugs where a flat drops off and they always get wrecked at the same time right at dark. Which leads us to believe they head to the flats at sundown (in summer)

[Bluebasser86]

16 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I don’t catch any super monsters like y’all but I have caught some big ones and they sometimes surprise me with how shallow they get on a mud flat, especially when it’s hot. We usually set jugs where a flat drops off and they always get wrecked at the same time right at dark. Which leads us to believe they head to the flats at sundown (in summer)

They use those shallow flats to corral baitfish just like a bass does. Push them up there where they have to either jump on the bank or come back towards the cats. It must be a bad way to go because I've seen shad and carp choose to die on the bank instead of trying to get back past those massive maws.