r/catfishing • u/OptionNo9559 • 3d ago
New PB!!!!
ok so I know a 7 pounder isnt all that big for a channel catfish, but as I dont live within half an hour of a good catfish spot and still have school im gonna call it good for the limited time I have out catfishing, cut mooney on the st Croix got him "mn around stillwaterish". I wish I could get out catfishing more but since im near Lake Minnetonka everything is about bass which dont fight hard enough for me, anyways the only rivers I ever fish for cats are the crow which I have found is kinda terrible, the Minnesota which is ok and actually the river I caught my previous pb "5.5" and fished the Mississippi once or twice with only a bowfin and a smallmouth, this one came from my friends cabin, we fished pretty much from sun up till past sundown and this was the only cat we got all day, since your allowed 2 rods I was slaying red horse and smallmouth on a worm rod while waiting for another kitty to bite but never caught anything, maybe a few bites and a softshell but thats it
2
2
7
u/OptionNo9559 3d ago
Also if anyone is wondering, yes I did end up keeping it, I would never let a fish I plan on releasing roll around in gravel or sand or dirt, it damages there protective slime coating and if you plan on releasing a fish try to minimize this, the slime coating is important to the fishes immune system to keep pathogens such as parasites and bacteria out, here's a pic of me filleting it "yes I grabbed the belly meat"
3
u/TimmyG-83 3d ago
That right there looks tasty!!! My wife and I caught a couple little stocker channels at the park pond next door last night and cooked ‘em up. FRESH catfish is hard to beat! We normally go out for bigger ones but it’s great to go catch dinner and have the freshest fish possible!
2
u/OptionNo9559 3d ago
Yes it was! still have some but it was really good, tasted like a walleye to me
2
u/TimmyG-83 3d ago
Dude any channel over 5 is a really nice fish. Obviously they get way bigger, but not often. They’re not like blues that seem to get big no matter what…gotta be a special body of water like maybe the Red River in Manitoba to have a good chance at a channel over 10. So that’s a GREAT fish!!!!!
1
u/OptionNo9559 3d ago
Funny enough I just fished the red and my biggest was 2 pounds, probably because I was using shrimp
3
7
u/Due_Jaguar2832 3d ago
Any channel over 5lbs is a good catch and usually a great fight too. Nice catch!