BOC Catfishing Hall of Fame/Tennessee

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Flathead Catfish record holders. Learn the catfishing secrets used to boat monster Flathead Catfish

Flathead Catfish record holders. Learn the catfishing secrets used to boat monster Flathead Catfish

Member Name Zach Butkauskas	BOC Screen Name lookinfurabiggun	BOC Join Date August, 2005
Date Catfish Was Caught August 30, 2005	State Caught In Tennessee	Body of Water Fished Mississippi River
Catfish Species Caught Flathead Catfish	Catfish Weight 61 Lbs.	Rod Used Tiger Combo (Walmart)
Reel Used Tiger Combo (Walmart)	Line Test & Type 50 Lb. Mono	Hook Used Info N/A
Bait Used Shad	Approx. Time Caught 9:30 PM	Air Temperature 80⁰
Weather Conditions Very warm night	Bite Activity Rating 7	Boat or Bank Fishing Info N/A

Fish Tale of the Catch:
Hi brother catfishermen My name is Zach Butkauskas, Chuck is my daddy, I am posting a story on my biggest fish, and am thrilled to say it is bigger than my dads. LOL Hope you all enjoy the story, and hope I get to read big fish stories from everyone on the site. (p.s. Don't give my dad to much hell over this, just a little. lol) I had only been in Tennessee for a month or so and was going out fishing with my father-in-law, and wife every week. We were fishing off of a bridge in a canal coming from Chisholm Lake. We fished there every weekend, and sometimes on weekdays every time we got the chance. My father-in-law has fished out there since he has lived in Tennessee. I hated it mostly because it is filled with Gar, but also because I hate fishing off of bridges. One night we were out on the bridge and a guy drove up and told us about this spot he had been going to on the Mississippi River where he had been catching several 10-25 pounders and a few that completely stripped his drag. I was kind of skeptical at first, but decided to go check it out. The following Saturday we went out and caught shad off of the bridge and headed to the river. We fished from 4 in the evening until about 8. (my father-in-law is not big on night fishing and I love it so there is always an argument) LOL. We ended up catching 2 or 3 small blues, which was good compared to what we had been catching. So the next night I decided I was going out and staying after dark. We all agreed on that so Sunday we went and got shad, and went out again. About an hour into the evening I brought in the first channel cat. Then it went dead until between 9 or 10. We had been out there for 4 hours and if you know the river, you know the amount of equipment you go through. Well I had just bought a pack of circle hooks that day and I was out already, so I had a small bait hook on the line. All of a sudden a bite!! I jumped out of my chair, grabbed the pole and set the hook. My drag started screaming, I reached down and tightened it in fear of loosing all of my line and finally started making some Leigh way. I fought him for about 30 min and finally got him to roll in front of me. My heart stopped when I seen the size of him. That is the biggest fish I have seen in my life I exclaimed! After another 10 min of hard work I got him on the bank. I was so excited I felt like crying but instead I jumped up and down, and screamed for probably longer than the fish took to reel in. LOL I didn't have a camera with me plus the fish was gut hooked, so I decided it would be best to put him on a stringer to see if he was going to live. I tied the stringer around a big boulder and put a heavy rock on it. I then fixed my pole up and threw it back out. I ended up catching a 14 lb blue and my father-in-law caught a 15 lb blue (his biggest). Then we decided to leave. I checked the fish on the stringer and he was bottom up. SO I dragged him up what seemed like a mile to the truck and put his head in a cooler full of water. We then went to pull up the other stringer with the two blues, but it was stuck! After a few very hard tugs it came out with only 1 fish on it. It was a wire stringer and the clamp with my blue had came undone. O well I said lets go. We went home and put both fish in a big tub of water and left the hose running all night, hoping the fish would come back to life and I could release him. No luck though. He died and we gave him to a big family to eat. They ate him so at least he went to good use. Sorry the story was so long but I wanted to make it exciting. LOL I am fairly new to the site and looking forward to having many more of these posts on here so tell me if it was too long.

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2nd place image

Member Name Chris Price	BOC Screen Name cumberlandcat	BOC Join Date April, 2006
Date Catfish Was Caught March 23, 2007	State Caught In Tennessee	Body of Water Fished Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee River
Catfish Species Caught Flathead catfish	Catfish Weight 51 Lbs.	Rod Used 7'6" heavy action
Reel Used Abu Garcia 10000 BG	Line Test & Type 80 Lb. Power Pro	Hook Used 10/0 circle
Bait Used Skipjack	Approx. Time Caught 1:00 PM	Air Temperature 75^o
Weather Conditions Clear	Bite Activity Rating 5 - So-So	Boat or Bank Fishing Boat fishing

Fish Tale of the Catch:
I ended up going fishing with Eric Maurer, never meet him before, didn't know what I was getting into. He turned out to be the coolest old man in the world. Nothing but smiles all day. We were hit a hole and catching some pretty decent blues, the bite would pick up and slow down through out the morning, but about noon they turned off. I could tell Eric was ready to go, but he took me to one last hole. I dropped the skip and tap tap tug really really hard. So as I am pulling him up he's nice but we had no idea he was reallly nice. He hit the top of th water and I said some things I can't repeat. Boated him, weighed him and took some pics. What a day, tons of blues and flathead, 51.1 pounds, 44 inches long and 34 girth. One last thanks to Eric for taking me to that last hole instead of calling it quits. I think he was having a hard time deciding if he wanted to kill this guy he really didn't know that had just boated a bigun in his boat or if he was happy for me. LOL Now I just have to top this one!

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3rd place flathead catfish image

Member Name John Fisher	BOC Screen Name Dreadnaught	BOC Join Date August, 2004
Date Catfish Was Caught February 9, 2008	State Caught In Tennessee	Body of Water Fished Cumberland River
Catfish Species Caught Flathead Catfish	Catfish Weight 43 Pounds	Rod Used Black and Blue Custom Rod 7' M/H
Reel Used ABU 7000c3	Line Test & Type 40 lb Big Game Solar Green	Hook Used 7/0 Kahle
Bait Used Fresh Cut Skipjack	Approx. Time Caught 10:45 AM	Air Temperature 55
Weather Conditions Calm Sunny	Bite Activity Rating 2	Boat or Bank Fishing Boat

Fish Tale of the Catch:

Well, Ralph Riley (cntryby) and I set off to go to the 2008 Cumberland City Fish and Camp just to mingle with some other great members of the BOC and maybe wet a line or two after a long wintery dry spell.
That saturday morning we had decided to get some fresh skipjack at the steamplant and only got a couple, (I thought to myself, This ain't gonna be enough). We launched the boat at 10am and set off down river to find some fish. We stopped in a spot that looked pretty good on the F/F at 10:15am and tossed out some bait into the 37* water to see what would happen. Now we were just sitting there shooting the bull when at 10:25am I had a rod go down. I set the hook and reeled in (after a 10minute skirmish) a 39.5lb Blue. A few Pics, weight and back in the water he goes. Shortly after that at 10:45 I had another rod go down, another good hookset and, a short fight. I couldn't believe my own eyes "A Flathead" yes a flathead in 37* water. After getting it's weight "43.2lbs" and a few pics it was released to fight another day. I was still in shock when Ralph snapped the pictures, LOL!!! Shortly after that the wind picked up out of the north at a brisk pace and the fish shut down. It was sad because Ralph was due a good fish and mother nature just delt us a rough hand for the rest of the day.

Member Name Eric Maurer	BOC Screen Name EricM	BOC Join Date January, 2007
Date Catfish Was Caught March 18, 2007	State Caught In Tennessee	Body of Water Fished Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee River
Catfish Species Caught Blue Catfish	Catfish Weight 84 Lbs.	Rod Used Ugly Stik 7' medium Med. Action
Reel Used Okuma Convector CV-30L baitcaster	Line Test & Type Ande 130 Lb. Tournament Mono	Hook Used Gamakatsu 8/0 Circle
Bait Used Cut skipjack herring	Approx. Time Caught 3:15 PM	Air Temperature 65⁰
Weather Conditions Sunny	Bite Activity Rating 7	Boat or Bank Fishing Boat Fishing

Fish Tale of the Catch:
I have been hunting a big blue cat to set an IGFA World Line Class record for some time. Today I was fishing in front of the Seqouyah nuclear plant where there is a large drop-off into deep water and the shad congregate. I was using a large piece of skipjack herring and bouncing it down the drop when this monster hit. We fought for about 45 minutes and you can imagine how I felt when it came alongside the boat. Unbelievably, the net held when I dragged it over the side (I sure couldn't lift it!). I grabbed a couple of fishermen and headed to the bank to get an official certified weight (84 lbs) and measurement (55" long and 34.75 around). I am sending it in to the IGFA and hope to have it approved for the record. I stayed in the water with the fish until it revived enough to swim away. What an exciting day!

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Blue Catfish 2nd place image

Member Name David Harrison	BOC Screen Name Bumper	BOC Join Date August, 2007
Date Catfish Was Caught April 10, 2008	State Caught In Tennessee	Body of Water Fished TN River/ Nickajack Lake
Catfish Species Caught Blue Catfish	Catfish Weight 83 Lbs.	Rod Used Kingkat 9' M/H
Reel Used Shakespeare Alpha spinning reel	Line Test & Type Trilene 40 lb. Big Game	Hook Used 7/0 Circle
Bait Used Cut Bream fillet	Approx. Time Caught 5:15 P.M.	Air Temperature 75^o
Weather Conditions Mostly cloudy	Bite Activity Rating 8	Boat or Bank Fishing Boat Fishing

Fish Tale of the Catch:
The rod went down and the drag started buzzin'. I thought it might have been a striper it pulled off so much line so fast. I was afraid I might get spooled because the reel wouldn't hold much 40 lb. line. It surfaced down stream and I saw it was a big cat. I got it turned and coming towards the boat. After approx. 20 mins. and several dives toward the bottom my 5 yr. old son Austin got the net under the big cats head and I got it folded in the net and drug it over the back of the boat. After getting help with some pics the big girl was released back into the river.

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Blue Catfish 3rd place image

Member Name Eric Maurer	BOC Screen Name EricM	BOC Join Date January, 2007
Date Catfish Was Caught November 9, 2007	State Caught In Tennessee	Body of Water Fished Chickamauga Lake
Catfish Species Caught Blue Catfish	Catfish Weight 78 Lbs.	Rod Used Shakespeare Ugly Stik 7' Medium action
Reel Used Okuma Convector CV-30 baitcaster	Line Test & Type Ande 80 Lb. mono	Hook Used 8/0 Gamagatsu Circle
Bait Used Fresh Cut Skip Jack	Approx. Time Caught 11:00 AM	Air Temperature 45^o
Weather Conditions Clear to partly cloudy	Bite Activity Rating 3	Boat or Bank Fishing Boat Fishing

Fish Tale of the Catch:
Fishing my usual river area, bouncing skipjack on the bottom in 45 feet of water on a drop-off, this 78 pound blue hit in relatively slow water flow. The fishing was otherwise very slow. This fish was close to the line-class record, so we ran to the nearest shore to weigh it, and it was just short of making the record. The fish was revived and released unharmed.

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Channel Catfish record holders

Member Name Eric Maurer	BOC Screen Name ericM	BOC Join Date January, 2007
Date Catfish Was Caught May 2, 2007	State Caught In Tennessee	Body of Water Fished Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee River
Catfish Species Caught Channel Catfish	Catfish Weight 9 Lbs.	Rod Used Ugly stik Lite, 6'6", ultralight spinning
Reel Used Pflueger President	Line Test & Type Ande Tournament 4 Lb. mono	Hook Used Gamagatsu 2/0 kahle
Bait Used nightcrawler	Approx. Time Caught 11:00 AM	Air Temperature 74⁰
Weather Conditions Sunny	Bite Activity Rating 3	Boat or Bank Fishing Boat Fishing

Fish Tale of the Catch:Here's a Tennessee challenge! Beat this fish and knock me off of the top, or even off of the board! I was fishing on top of a hump in 30' of water using ultralight equipment and a nightcrawler when this 9 pound channel hit. It fought like it was 20 pounds and gave me a very good time on 4 lb line!

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channel catfish 2nd place image

Member Name David Harrison	BOC Screen Name Bumper	BOC Join Date August, 2007
Date Catfish Was Caught April 10, 2008	State Caught In Tennessee	Body of Water Fished TN River/ Nickajack Lake, TN River
Catfish Species Caught Channel Catfish	Catfish Weight 9 Lbs.	Rod Used KingKat 9' M/A
Reel Used Shakespeare Alpha spinning reel	Line Test & TypeTrilene 40 lb. big game	Hook Used 7/0 circle
Bait Used Cut Bream	Approx. Time Caught 7:30 PM	Air Temperature 75⁰
Weather Conditions Mostly cloudy	Bite Activity Rating 8	Boat or Bank Fishing Boat Fishing

Fish Tale of the Catch:After an already incredible day, This 9 lb. channel was one of the last of the day. I mostly catch blues, so I was a little surprised to see the big channel.

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3rd place image

NO ENTRY SUBMITTED
channel catfish by EricM 8 Lbs.

Member Name Eric Maurer	BOC Screen Name EricM	BOC Join Date January, 2007
Date Catfish Was Caught February 24, 2008	State Caught In Tennessee	Body of Water Fished Chickamauga Lake, TN River
Catfish Species Caught Channel Catfish	Catfish Weight 8 Lbs.	Rod Used Ugly Stik 6'6" Medium Action
Reel Used Okuma CV-30L Baitcasting	Line Test & TypeAnde 80 Lb. Mono	Hook Used 8/0 Gamagatsu Circle
Bait Used Cut Skipjack Herring	Approx. Time Caught 1:00 PM	Air Temperature 45⁰
Weather Conditions Clear to partly cloudy	Bite Activity Rating 5 - So-So	Boat or Bank Fishing Boat Fishing

Fish Tale of the Catch:I and a friend were out for catfish and the fishing was kind of slow. We had caught a few blues up to 14 pounds when I had a nice hit on a drop-off in about 40 feet of water. I was suprised to see an eight pound channel cat because they normally don't frequent this area until later in the spring. They do like to fight hard!