Fifty-six pound flathead catfish, dedicated to James Crenshaw. Richard Crenshaw and Jamey Mosley caught the giant catfish last Saturday. Shown with them are Brandon Crenshaw, Ethan Young and Eli Crenshaw.

   Spring break week was the perfect time to do a little fishing and Richard Crenshaw and Jamey Mosley headed outdoors and spent a little time camping and a lot of time fishing. Their camping trip started last Wednesday and quickly turned into a fishing trip. They caught a lot of eating sized fish and fried up more than a few to eat. But that wasn’t their goal on this excursion. No, they set their sights on catching a big catfish so preparations were made.

    Catching any kind of fish is always fun, and catching lunker bass is a blast as well, but tangling with monster flathead catfish is the ultimate feat. Yellow cat, flathead, Appaloosa cat; they are known by several common names but they remain one of the most elusive of all fish. These catfish are not your run of the mill channel cat, or blue cat. No sir, the flatheads are feared predators that stalk and eat their prey. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bream, bass, crappie or even other catfish, these monster predators don’t cull anything that’s alive and swims in their territory. But they don’t eat any junk!

    As a result of their feeding habits prospective anglers like Crenshaw and Mosley have to think outside the box when it come to getting the big bruisers to bite. The truly large cats don’t want a snack or sandwich, they want the whole enchilada. They want the real deal and that’s just what this dynamic duo had in mind when they started their hunt for a big catfish. They rounded up some tempting goldfish.

Fish On!

    Last Friday night they got their first taste of tangling with a big cat. After pitching out a few noodles baited up with goldfish, they enjoyed the evening and watched for strikes. It didn’t take long before one of the noodles started bobbing up and down signaling a bite of some kind.

    After quite a bit of effort they finally caught up with the noodle and Crenshaw grabbed a hold of the noodle and line and the monster on the other end fought like a demon unleashing a torrent of water and thrashing about like a madman. Their excitement was short lived however, as the big cat snapped the line like sewing thread, when the anglers tried to subdue him and bring him into the boat.

    Though they were disappointed in losing a big fish like that, they were even more determined to try again the next afternoon. After gathering up some more noodles and bait, the anglers headed out to the lake around 3 p. m. and got in the boat and started baiting up the lines. With a fresh batch of goldfish they had visions of hooking and landing another monster cat.

    About 4 p.m., one of the noodles suddenly disappeared out of sight and then took off like a torpedo, zipping across the lake at breakneck speed. A massive cat had crushed their goldfish and wasn’t about to let it go! And Crenshaw and Mosley were right behind in hot pursuit with their Minn Kota Trolling motor burning it up.

    Each time they neared the noodle it sped off in the other direction. After about 30 minutes they finally caught up to it and Crenshaw grabbed the noodle and the fight was on. Almost instantly the monster cat unleashed a furious assault that left the noodle in pieces and Crenshaw holding the line.

Tug of War

    “I’m going to wrap the line around my hand and try to bring him in,” Crenshaw told his fishing partner. Once Crenshaw secured the line and started tugging on the big cat, it unleashed another furious fight and sucked Crenshaw under the water as it bore down towards the depths.

    “Jamey grabbed me by the belt and pulled me and the fish back up,” said Crenshaw. “It took about 15 minutes to subdue the catfish and I finally got my hand in his mouth and we pulled him in to the boat!” After a trip to the scales the monster tipped the scales at an astounding 56 pounds! Surely that’s one of the biggest cats that have ever come out of a lake in this part of the state.

    After settling down and just enjoying the moment with his friends and fellow anglers, Crenshaw wanted to remember his grandfather James Crenshaw who happens to turn 91 on March 25th. “If it wasn’t for my grandfather I wouldn’t be here enjoying this tonight,” said Crenshaw. “And I just want to dedicate this catch in honor of him and what he means to me; to all of us!” Yes, everyone should be so lucky to have such a grandfather!

    Contact  Mike Giles at 601-917-3898

or e-mail him at mikegiles18@comcast.net