went out last night throwing a swim bait looking for mister bass. slow fishing for a while, then i have a bass come right up to the shore line and hits my bait. like a foot off the rod tip. scared the crap out of me. did not get a hook set on that fish to say the least. keep fishing a while and then it happens. i get a nice long cast in next to a dock. wait a little bit and twitch my bait. all of a sudden there is a boil right on my bait. it look like a 100lb kid doing a cannon ball. set the hook and it is game on. fighting this fish on an 8' stick w/ a 400 and 20' p-line. the fish is going crazy up and down the shore rolling on the top tall walking for a bit. fight goes on for a good 5 minutes of blood pumping drag pealing excitement. my buddy dan is getting ready to help me land this fish. he stops for a second and says " OH $HIT THIS THING IS HUGE" i lean down to help him get it in. as we drag it out of the water i realize it is a huge catfish. it wieghs out a 42lbs. that right a 42lb blue cat had boiled on my m.s.slammer. could not believe it. so pissed and so stoked at the same time. hard to believe a 42lb cat would hit a trout bait, but it did and scared the crap out of me in the process. fish a little more for 1 more boil. all in all a great night on the water. i just love throwing swim baits , because you never eally know what might happen.

Good report---made me smile.

Dan

Can we ask where you were? That's an awefully big kitty. I bet it made your 20# outfit feel a tad light, but fun!
I've had more than a few of those right-at-the-shoreline bites. I've only landed 1 of them and I saw it trailing the lure 3' before it hit as it or it's moonshadow passed over a lighter patch. When it hit, I set and it jumped landing in a hole between 3 boulders. It couldn't really fight in the smaller than a bathtub area of water, but it still gave a good acount of itself for an 8#er. I was 1/2 drenched before it jumped back out of the hole, and it still fought a little on the outside.
Tight lines,
Wade

i was up at mission viejo. the fight on this fish was intense. my gear fealt great i just wish it was a bass. x(

I had about 5-6lb cat slam my lure on the surface a couple months ago and although it was nowhere near the size of your fish It proved to be a very hot fish and put a better fight then I have got from cats twice it's size in the past. After that I had a whole new respect for those fish. I had lost another on the topwater a couple weeks after that which ended up falling off but it also proved to be an above average cat. I wouldn't bother soaking bait to catch them but if they hit the topwater like that all the time I would soon turn in to a catfish hunter.

JerryG

That's freakin awesome ! I once caught a 21.2 lb Channel on the Castaic Trout lure, but that's exactly half of your catch !

OK, so I have to ask..... Did you get a photo ? Flash works fine at night.... and what a frameable photo this catch should have made....

Congrats, and continued success to you,
Fish Chris

yea i got alot of pictures. just need to get them up-loaded. thanks chris comeing from a master trophy hunter like yourself that means alot.

I envey your ability to fish mv.Cant wait to see that hawg!
Billy.

thanks for all the props guys. i will have photos and a vid to release later
chip gilbert .... bassaholics.com

Those cats are insane when they hit the Slammer! I got one about 8 tonight, and 4 lmb, all little 2 pounders- The cat was short, but really fat!!

http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/2955.jpg