Get in my boat you FAT PIG!

I took a week off work and came down to the James River for some big cat action! 

Friday (11/20):
My boat was still in the shop in Richmond when I came down, so a friend offered to take me out with him.  We left Deep Bottom at midnight, got bait, and got setup in a fishy spot in no time.  Such a gorgeous and calm night.  I was in a single long sleeve shirt all night.  We boated a single small fish for most of the night.  We moved around a bit, and at sunup finally found the right pattern for the fish and ended up with a pretty good day of fishing.  Jeff boated a couple of citations, and I closed out the day with a long fight against a stubborn 53# that didn't want to come up off the bottom.  We lost our electronics early in the night, including the depth finder, so we had to setup on spots by look and feel, and we did pretty good.  I kind of went with that the rest of the week too.

34.4#:

30#:

53.1# - 44.75":

Final tally for the day:
Jeff - 34.4#, 30#, 25#
Me - 53.1#-44.75", 25#, 22#, 20#, 15#, 10#

Saturday (11/21):
I picked my boat up at 9am, paid a $361 bill, and proceeded to the ramp.  Not 1/4 mile down the river, I noticed it wouldn't get above 4000rpm (WOT on my boat is 5K RPM).  Then the bad shaking and noises began.  I took a look under the cowling, and saw where the flywheel ate up a hose and left a fine black dust all over the interior of my motor.  There would be no fishing this day.

A small group of catters had a meetup at Hooters that night and we had a good time shooting the shit and eating good food for over 3 hours.  One of the guys offered to take me out on his boat the next day (Jaybeeyakker), and another guy offered to let me borrow his boat the rest of the week (Fish Pimp).  I reluctantly accepted Pete's offer.  I've never known a more helpful, unselfish, group of guys than those I've met since I started catfishing.

Here is our group at Hooters:

From left: Jeff (Jaybeeyakker), Jeff's friend, Pete (Fish Pimp), Mike (Cameron_Krazie), Kenneth (Paraguayguy), and myself. 
Lizard snapped the pic so unfortunately wasn't in it.

Sunday (11/22):
I headed out of Deep Bottom as captain of the Fish Pimp express.  Got used to the stick steer in no time.  It's a fun boat to pilot!  Bait was just average all week, and I usually fished with 5-6 cutters, so I was having to use baits a long time, but I don't think it affected the bite at all.  It was a tough day.  I caught one fish.

38# - 43":

Final tally for the day:  38#-43"

Monday (11/23):
I basically had the river to myself.  I fished a 1/4 mile section of river all day that had been producing.  I tried a new technique setting up at the head of a fertile stretch, fishing it for about an hour, and if the bite slows or is non-existant, pulling anchor and moving just beyond the reach of your last baits, then repeating down that stretch of river until you find an active pocket of fish.  Pulled in some nice fish through the day long drizzle and pulled out just after dark.



44.6# - 45":

33.2# - 39":

Waiting for a bite......

Pete's sweet custom-built Monster Rod Rack

Final tally for the day:  44.6#-45" and 17# double, 33.2#-39", 27#, 17#

Tuesday (11/24):
I set out downriver out of Jordan Point on another rainy day.  Today was the only day I got bait really fast.  I fished another 1/4 mile section of river and did the same anchor and move strategy.  First setup, nothing.  Second setup, 20#.  Third setup, bingo!  Three 40#+ fish within an hour....all on the same pole, cast to the same spot.

48.3# - 44":

41.7# - 43.5":

40.7# - 43":

The water around the Benjamin Harrison Bridge...smooth as glass....

Final tally for the day:  48.3#-44", 41.7#-43.5", 40.7#-43", 20#

Wednesday (11/25):
To this point, all the fish I'd caught had been in the channel in 30+ feet of water.  So that's the strategy I went with to start the day.  I got a 15# on my first setup, shallow side.  I got a 20# on my second setup, shallow side.  Nothing on my third and fourth set.

It was already 3pm, and I was nearing the end of my trip.  I needed to try something different, so I setup shallow close by and it was a good move.  I immediately got a 44#, following by a citation length 26#, followed by four more fish 23 and under.  I then had another pole go down and was fighting a 15# and just about had him at the boat, when the monster finally hit.  He hit with such force, the rod holder spun to the right. I thought to myself this is a nice fish, so I better put the rod I had in my hand back into the holder and deal with that fish later.  I had to untangle the mess of other poles before I could start fighting the big fish, and what a fight it was!  I was only in about 10' of water, and it was making alot of sideways runs and was pulling alot of drag.  I was thinking 50+ for sure just by the fight, but I got a brief glimpse of him just under the surface and I started to get excited!  I had some trouble netting him because it was so long, but after a couple of trys and having to manually stuff his tail into the net, I got him aboard.  New PB shatters the old mark, and I'm now a proud member of the 60lb club! The fish went 66.3# and was 51" long. Both records for me.  A few minutes after landing this fish, another pole went down and I boated a 50# fish to end the night! What a great last two hours!

66.3# - 51" - NEW PB!!!

Here I am struggling to pick the fish up as the timer shot went off:

What a gorgeous sky!

Can you tell which rod holder the fish hit and which way it ran?

50.3# - 44":

44.3# - 42":

26# - 38":

Here is one of the many barges that passed me on the river during the week:

Final tally for the day:  66.3#-51", 50.3#-44", 44.3#-42", 26#-38", 23, 21, 20, 15, 15, 15, 5

Accomodations: 
I found a great couple who was renting a trailer in their backyard.  It was located less than 10 minutes away from Deep Bottom off I-295.  Having the home-like accomodations really made a huge difference through the week.  There is something about staying in a hotel night after night that drains you, as if the fishing alone doesn't do that.  But being able to come home to a hot shower, home cooked meal, and to crash on the couch and watch tv like I was at home, enabled me to keep my batteries charged through the week and avoid the typical crash I've experienced in the past.  I also spent about half of what I normally would at a hotel!  I ate very well throughout the week.

Here was a Salisbury Steak and rice dinner I fixed Friday night:

Beats a greasy fast food dinner any time!