Another way to see if it is a YellowCat, try to catch it on the YC and PYC days of my Catfish Calendar. The Calendar is geared for BlueCats, YellowCats & Gator Gars (as they run the same pattern as YCs). The Calendar keys in on the largest percentage of those. I am estimating that about 66% to 75% of Blues, Yellows & Gator Gars run the roam-feed pattern of my calendar. I don't think it is a Gator Gar as usually they don't run for cover like what you described.

Keep us in the loop, be it missed again, or tried & nothing yet. We'll all be awaiting around the TFF campfire awaiting your results to share.

Eventually I am sure the stomach acids will eat a hook up.

hmm...sounds like you need some help. Send me the GPS coordinates where this fishzilla is and I'll get back to you....at some point. lol.. In all seriousness, does sound like either a big Flathead or a monster Turtle. Get some big line, go big, fight hard and fast and get this guy to the surface! And wear a gopro on your head and document this battle!

Good luck Darry. If 80 lb. braid and a 8/0 hook won't get it in, I say, leave it alone.

Sorry about that. Look for the thread titled "Lynn's Catfish Calendar". I set a thread up for each year here on TFF. I post the monthly calendar on it. Up front in January or before I post January, I will also include the URLs (webdresses) of all the past yearly threads, so you can back up & sift thru them for more info. They go back to mid 2010.

I was taught by two YellowCat teachers from around 1978 to 1980. So I was mainly focused on keying in on YellowCat research. In 1981, I went into oilwell cementing with Eddie Chiles' company- The Western Company. They had an interesting schedule for days on & off. For Cement division, it was 7 on, 2 off, 7 on, 2 off, and 7 on, 3 off. Then repeat. Basically, a 28 day calendar. In cement, our once a month 3 day weekend was Sat/Sun/Mon. Next round would be Tues/Wed. And the following was Thurs/Fri. In stimulation, they had their 3 day weekend set for Fri/Sat/Sun. It was by fishing on my days off in cement that I went fishing. All of a sudden, I started consistently catch YellowCats, which I had failed to do previously, even after learning the knowledge of YellowCats from my two Teachers. I finally had to wonder if I had stumbled into some sort of an ingrained pattern to Yellows. So in 1982, I finally mapped out the next 3 years 1983/1984/1985 as to trying out my theory mainly on the Trinity River below TX 21 bridge.

My Calendar uses 4 main sigs (signs). Naturally my main research was YellowCats, hence the one designated as YC (YellowCat). I also stumbled into a more erratic pattern for BlueCats (that would be BC). Next was an oddity of which I finally labelled Buffet (or BFT). To me, my catches on those days were mostly a wide variety of Cats & other fish. For me, I also tend to catch a lot of ChannelCats (CC but not a sig on my calendar), but I did not research on YellowCats & I doubt if I will. Nor have I researched MC (MudCats, also known as bullheads, pollies, and so on). And finally ZIP. Well, that one should pretty well explain that your catches are not going to be very great. For me at least,

However, I also found that Gator Gars run the same pattern as the Yellows, but tend to run it a few hours ahead, probably between 3 & 6 hours, as best estimate.

So for every day, whichever "sig" has the most "pull", it gets that one assigned to it. I had to wonder about the initial pattern of 7,2,7,2,7,3, and repeat. It is not exact, but that is the closest that can be utilized as markers for their pattern. Sometimes the calendar does not show YC when it would seem that pattern is still there underlying. So in addition, due to further research & experience, I finally decided to compile my "PYC" designated days to post in addition to the calendar norm of 4 sigs. In the 2017 printed Catfish Calendar, I have incorporated them into those specific days of the month, even though I explain they are separate from the 4 sigs. I also post the 4 phases of the Moon in my monthly TFF posting. In the 2017 printed Calendar the 4 Moon phases are in there listed in their particular day of the month.

I also have the Calendar KEY which defines the 4 sigs such as ...
YC = YellowCat
BC = BlueCat
BFT = Buffet
ZIP = ZIP (not really good)
Then there are tips in the KEY. I have added more tips since 2008.

I finally came up with a term to describe what I believe is going on as to the Cats that follow the Calendar. It is that there is some sort of circuitry switch that "clicks" them into a "roam-feed" gear or action. In other words, there is some sort of Nature's way of booting them out of the house to go search for Food.

I also explain that there are those Yellows or Blues, as well as GG (Gator Gars), that do not follow the pattern of my calendar. I call them rogue, in the sense that they dance to a different beat. The simplest way to explain that is the current workforce. In other words, let's say a business may have 3 shifts going as it is operational 24 hours a day. There is the majority on the day shift. Next would be the night shift. And there would be yet another one called the graveyard shift. The Calendar would be applied to the main crowd- the Day shift. My best estimate is that around 66% to 75% follow the pattern of my Calendar. The rogue dance to a separate beat. That would be about 25% to 33% (the night shift & graveyard shift combined).

I hope that makes better sense now.