Video of the capture of the 67-pound beast
by Richard Simms
posted March 21, 2008
) Barbara Simms is understandably proud of a monster, 67.4 pound blue cat caught fishing with Mike Mitchell. (www.SouthernCats.com) |
But I have been bested... bested in a big way by my wife Barbara.
I love to catfish and I'm proud to tell folks that my personal best blue cat tipped the scales at 60 pounds. Some hardcore catfishermen (and women) catch bigger, but most people never have, nor ever will, see a catfish (or even a fish) that big hit the bottom of their boat. I hadn't... until yesterday.
Barbara and I had the fine honor of being escorted on the river by Mike Mitchell (www.SouthernCats.com) in the tailwaters of Guntersville Dam. I'm used to fishing for numbers... lots of catfish from five pounds (and maybe up to 60), Mitchell on the other hand doesn't waste time with "baby cats."
I figured that out real quickly as I watched him slice a 3-pound skipjack into 3 baits... shearing off chunks of bait larger than the fish most people like to catch.
Fishing for monster cats is a waiting game. I warned Barbara to "bring a book."
We hit three or four of Mike's holes throughout the afternoon without a bite. Barbara was making good headway on her book as Mike and I dropped baits in a new hole. It was barely a minute before the clicker on one of Mike's broomstick-style rods started to sing.
The book hit the floor and Barbara spun like a lighthouse trying to figure out which rod was going off. Mike got her pointed the right direction and immediately said, "that's a big fish."
I have no idea how he knew, but he immediately said, "I think that's going to be the biggest fish I've ever seen caught in this hole."
Of course it wasn't "caught" yet.
I scrambled for the video camera as Barbara held on for the first couple of big runs.
It wasn't long before she saying, "I need one of those belts like they use deep sea fishing."
No belts in sight however, just backbone, grits and willpower... plus good tackle to handle a fish bigger than most folks would ever see, even if they were deep sea fishing.
"My hand's cramping up," exclaimed Barbara as she occasionally swapped the rod from hand to hand to rest. But she kept holding... and kept cranking. Mike grinned the grin of a good guide who likes to see happy anglers, even if they are sweating and groaning.
The fished rolled to the surface 50 feet behind the anchored boat as Mike said, "You've got a ways to go before the net will reach him."
Groaning again, and smiling, Barbara said, "Oh, you're not going to go out there and meet him halfway?"
The big gear, and Barbara, were up to the task. Minutes later the monster blue rolled into the net.
Our daughters, Priscilla and Tiffany, are significant players in a video called "Girls Gone Grabblin'" ... young ladies doing hand-to-hand combat with monster catfish. They battled some beasts, but neither of our girls had ever gone toe-to-toe with a fish like this.
Mom was proud as she looked in the camera and said, "They never grabbled one that big did they? See... see girls!"
The girls have been bested... I have been bested.
My wife has given the whole family a new target to shoot for. Check out the video and some pictures:
Learn more at: www.SouthernCats.com or at www.ScenicCityFishing.com
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