So I was out at good old San Pablo dam recently, doing my best to catch a bass. Bass fishing has been really off this year at my favorite lake. Lots of reasons for it, but just overall a down year.

So I'm cruisin along when I see a big dark shape sitting in the shade under one of the few pieces of shade left in the lake. I actually saw the fish just as I had made my cast with a texas rig tube bait, and as soon as my bait hit the water, the fish disappeared. A split second later I see the water bulge and swirl on the surface. I didn't feel anything, but since my bait was still falling, it was one of those ones where you just have to assume you are bit. I gave it my best hookset, and it was like setting into a snag. Except that the second the fish was hooked, it took off like a bat out of hell and ripped about 50 feet of line off my reel!

Well there was this small part of me that thought maybe it was a bass, but I've tangled with a few cats at Pablo before, and pretty soon it was evident that this was the large whiskered variety. After a 5 minute battle on 20lb test I got it in the net. A 20.5lb channel cat :o :P

So I finally got my 20lber at San Pablo! lol.

http://calfishing.com/albums/misc_freshwater/9_1_04_rob_20_5_catfish.sized.jpg

That is a SOLID fish. Its nice to feel something pulling on the end of your line when the bass fishing is slow!

Mike F

Very Nice cat! Hey whats that white lure on your deck?

Fish On ... Get the net!!!

Dave

9 inch white MS Slammer

Not trying to answer your question for ya Rob, but I remember you saying that you wanted to throw that (white ms slammer) a little more. Any luck with it yet? How about the strong red?

I don't know why, but red swimbaits have really caught my attention recently. I'm getting ready to buy a couple of Japanese (floating) swimbait models that have a lot or red in them.

I haven't gotten anything on the white or the red yet (yes that is a white one on the deck). I like the white one and I know it'll get fish sooner or later. The red one is still a mystery...

thats to funny, but must have been an awesome fight

Hey Rob, Nice Cat!

The white Slammer is perfect for showing the fish something they haven't seen before. It also works really good when the bass are feeding on shad.
Here's a 4lber I got on it my first trip out.

http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/2558.jpg

I feel your pain Rob,
I have caught a couple of big cats while bass fishing.
I got some on shadraps and some on shinners. I have even caught a 4lb bass on a fist sized chunk of mackeral. come to think of it I have caught a 1lb trout on a big mackeral hunk at night! It only sucks for the few seconds after you realize its a cat and then I am happy to catch them even if i am a little disapointed.
My question is , Have you ever caught a cat on a swimbait or trout plug? I havent yet but I probably will someday.

I haven't .. but it definitely happens. Getting cats at night at LMV seems to be a pretty common thing. I know Brian got a pretty big one on the Slammer once. Fish Chris got a 21.1lb channel cat on Castaic Trout, and if I remember right, Mike Long got a huge blue cat at San V on a basstrix once. There's some awesome cat pics @

http://www.trophybassonly.com/id88.htm