Caught this extremely large blue catfish on a dropshot while fishing for walleye. Size 1 hook with a 3" gulp minnow, ML-F rod 10lb. test line. This area has some serious current as well, which made for a great battle. Lost another one that broke me off.

 

My scale tops out at 25lbs. Anybody care to guess the weight of this thing? I weigh 210 for comparison. Regardless of the weight, it is by far the biggest catfish I've ever caught.

 

Fish was caught on the Potomac River near Chain Bridge in Washington, DC. 

 

I'll guess 45-50 lbs but what do I know?  Beast of a fish whatever the weight!  Bet it was fun on the lighter gear.

Man what a fish!

Freakin' awesome ... I can only imagine what that was like on a drop shot.  LOL

You must've had your drag set correctly! LOL  Awesome fish.  I have no idea on weight, did you get a length or girth measurement?  I wonder if theres a calculator for blues like we have for bass?

Wow!  Nice blue there.

Holy crap that is huge! I have caught and seen some nice cats on the Patomac but DANG!

I can tell you from experience that Gulp minnows and leeches smell like nothing I could imagine! I had a bag leak in my pants pocket once, never will use that again LOL

Thanks for the kind words all. I'll always remember this fish for it's fighting spirit and massive size. I'm not particularly into catfishing, but this opened my eyes. Tons of fun. 
 

Freakin' awesome ... I can only imagine what that was like on a drop shot.  LOL

The one I lost earlier was on 10lb braid with a 6lb fluoro leader. Water was turbid and the fish was huge, so I ditched the leader and tied directly to the braid (good thing too, I probably would've lost this one otherwise.) Felt like I was reeling in a a pit bull. The fish breached several times and made several looong runs. I've caught lots of small/medium sized cats on a ds, but this was definitely not what I was expecting.
 

You must've had your drag set correctly! LOL  Awesome fish.  I have no idea on weight, did you get a length or girth measurement?  I wonder if theres a calculator for blues like we have for bass?

I usually set the drag at 1/4 to 1/3 the strength of the line when dropshotting. It's a good thing that I hooked the fish less than 40' away. It made a couple of runs where I was almost down to my mono backing, which is only 6lb. test. Tried to backreel it at first, lol. 

 

Didn't get any measurements on the fish as it had already been through a lot, and I had a hard enough time getting the boga grips and pliers out in the dark. Quickly unhooked, photo, release. I'd guess the length is around 50", as for girth I have no clue. The record fish that I see photos of are really plump looking, where as this one had a more athletic/muscular build. If I'm not mistaken the same bass calculator works for cats/carp. And the BR calculator has settings to calculate panfish, walleye, pike, muskie and trout. 

 

Holy crap that is huge! I have caught and seen some nice cats on the Patomac but DANG!

I can tell you from experience that Gulp minnows and leeches smell like nothing I could imagine! I had a bag leak in my pants pocket once, never will use that again LOL

 

That's why I get the pint sized jar now. You get a lot more of the gulp juice that way too. I don't use gulp much in the warmer months, but in the winter it's a staple for me.

 
 

Niiiiiiiice, I caught one that size in the spring right at the airport in 4mr on a small spinnerbait. Those cats in moving water stay a little more svelt, and boy are they fun. I find blues tend to run while channels just spin. One of the reasons I love the Potty is you just never know what you're going to hook. It's probably in the 40+ # range, but it's so hard to tell from photos, especially fish that size.

Niiiiiiiice, I caught one that size in the spring right at the airport in 4mr on a small spinnerbaits. Those cats in moving water stay a little more svelt, and boy are they fun. I find blues tend to run while channels just spin. One of the reasons I love the Potty is you just never know what you're going to hook. It's probably in the 40+ # range, but it's so hard to tell from photos, especially fish that size.

The Potty, lol. 

Yeah I also refer to 4mr as "The Runs", for obvious reasons...

Yeah I also refer to 4mr as "The Runs", for obvious reasons...

You're killing me over here. 

 

On a side note, have you heard the rumors of tilapia being caught in 4MR? Saw a photo of one that a guy caught there last fall, and heard that there were others. Nile tilapia, iirc.

 

edit: Found the article here on the TPFR's forum.

You had another one snap off!!! That's crazy!!! Definitely in the 40 to 50lbs range...

You had another one snap off!!! That's crazy!!! Definitely in the 40 to 50lbs range...

Yeah, it seems like I stumbled upon a lair of them. They were holding on the tail end of a large eddie near really swift moving water. Might go back out there, but it's a long ride. My friend that I was fishing with got broken off by something huge too. 

Yeah, it seems like I stumbled upon a lair of them. They were holding on the tail end of a large eddie near really swift moving water. Might go back out there, but it's a long ride. My friend that I was fishing with got broken off by something huge too. 

 

That's sweet!

Nice fish!

it's 67lbs

awsome catch man !!!! that  thing is huge ineed to hook into one of those!!!

Good Lord! Nice

 

 

J

Looks right around 40 pounds, very nice looking blue and a lot of fish to handle on a light spinning rod, especially in current!

Looks right around 40 pounds, very nice looking blue and a lot of fish to handle on a light spinning rod, especially in current!

St. Croix  Premier. Rod was working hard, but it didn't budge.

Thats a biggin'!

Yeah I'd say that cat is in the 40 to 50 pound range

That is ridiculous..

Sweet.

Just don't eat it SW... I don't want to see you go out like that HAHA