Pulled this monster out of the Colorado this weekend. No scale available, but the general consensus was 50 lbs. +

Caught on a limb line. Used an 8/0 stainless hook with a 5" perch. We took some photos and let it go.

What a fish.

Nice fish!

Wow, that is a great flatty!

sweet

thats a real nice one. Colorado has a lot of nice yellow cats in it. its good to hear that you let it go to fight another day

dang it son!

Man oh Man. That is a great catch. Well done on the CPR.

Wow!

Nice!

wewwweee! Nice. I caught a few flatties myself on a rod and reel this weekend at Sulfur Springs F.C.. They were feeding for sure. My only prob was not preparing for them earlier by catching some bluegill for bait. didn't catch anything near that size.

that fish looks over 50...did you get the length and girth?

goodun!!!

No measurements taken. I was pretty unprepared for anything of this size. Also, the fish was out of the water for some time, so I needed to move fast if he was going to live.

Honestly, I think it was a fair bit over 50#. I know pretty well what an 80# bag of quickcrete feels like in my arms and I can tell you that is what was on my mind while I was holding it up for the photos.

After 30 seconds or so holding that fish up, the muscles in my arms started to *burn*.

I can't wait to get out again. Anyone else fish the Colorado below Austin?

Also, thanks for all the encouragement and positive comments.

Many thanks!

Rich

Great fish and thanks for the live release. luv the yellow cats! nothing beats river yellow cat. Colorado river chain produces some nice fish.

That looks like the bridge just outside of Bastrop, is it? Has a little boat ramp and field with RV slots next to it?

Yup, that's the one.

Looks Good!

Looks to be an Op (spotted Yellow). If so, usually, a 44 to 48"er will be about 60#.

A PJ (Plain Jane) (aka No spots or splotches) is usually a little slimmer & longer, as to length/weight ratio.

Unless prices are higher, Academy most of the time will have a Berkley or Rapala 50# digital scale for $20 or less (if on sale). If the hook holds & does not bend, it should still weigh upwards of a 60# accurately.

A flathead on a limb line is ALWAYS exciting watching the limb slap the water! Really nice fish!

I'm a bit farther down the Colorado in LaGrange, but the river is awful shallow there and you have to pick your days to fish it.

Dang we need rain all over!

Op or Plain Jane? A flathead catfish is all of them...their coloration is due to the water they come out of, there isn't two species of flathead catfish. Yellow cat, brindled colored, spots, etc., all are flathead catfish.

Your description/comparison of the catfish is hilarious...one is this and the other is that. How funny some folks think.

Thats A BIG X2

To the OP great fish, for sure a good one, but if you can hold a 80lb bag of concrete out like that for thirty seconds before your arms burn or tingle then your a stronger man than I... I think 50lb is a much better guess than 80, JMHO.

matt

I sure don't know anything about Flatheads, but there is only one species of domesticated dog too, Canis lupus. A Chihuahua and a German Shepherd are the same species. That doesn't mean they aren't very different in some ways...or even in a lot of ways.

Humans are also all one species, Homo sapiens, but we're not all the same shape, color, or size either.

Matt,

I hear you, good point.

As I was holding the fish, my thoughts were straying towards a sack of concrete, as it was the easiest, most compact heavy thing that came to my mind for reference. The fish was not as heavy as the concrete, but heading that way.

My second thought was that it was like picking up my 65 lb. dog, Grover. He is turning into a fatty.

DANG THATS A NICE FISH! glad to see people still catch and release the bigguns. i fish the colorado a little west of town, near westlake, havent fished much south of town

I fish te colorado out of bastrop. Havnt caugt anything of that size. Our biggest was a 38 pound yellow. Most of our fish are in the 10 - 20 pound range

Whoa...that's a BIG fish!

I fish the area around smithville. Last friday I put out ten hooks with perch. I didn't get to run them at first light on saturday due to hunting turkeys in string prarie. I got on the river around 10 in the morning and my first line was gone. Someone had tied theirs right on the same log. My luck changed however, I caught a 12 pounder and two six pounders.

Nice flatty for sure..

Nice Fish. Good Job!

Yes there are different breeds of dogs just like there are different species of fish but they don't look the same due to difference in species, including catfish species, but flathead catfish is a single species, though they may look different in color they are the same species of catfish, but are different than channel, blue and bullhead catfish and have different scientific names. No different than all Dalmatians are the same breed of dog, but their coat-coloring is not the same on every dog and they are different than other breeds of dogs.

You are interchanging "breeds" and "species". There are multiple breeds of dogs, but only one species. Just like there is only one species of flatheads. Channel cats and blues are a different species. I'm not saying there are different breeds of flatheads. I know next to nothing on the subject. I'm just saying that talking down to someone that thinks there are differences within a species just b/c "there isn't two species of flatheads" is not appropriate.

When you have populations of organisms that have been separated either by physical or other means, you can begin to see differences within the same species. Again, I am not arguing that this is the case with Flatheads, but I am arguing that it is possible. The vast numbers of dog breeds are due to humans selectively breeding them over the centuries.

Just remember, a wolf and a weenie dog are the same species meaning they have more in common than a flathead and a bluecat. If you artificially crossed a wolf with a weenie dog, assuming the mother was the wolf (since the weenie dog would probably not be large enough to carry wolf fetuses to term), you would get viable offspring. If you crossed a flathead with a bluecat or channel cat, you would likely not get viable, meaning able to reproduce, offspring. It has happened rarely, like a polar bear/grizzly second generation hybrid that was shot in the arctic several years ago, but it's not common. Another example is the white/striped bass hybrid. Some people say they can occasionally reproduce, others argue this. Not even all biologists agree on the matter.

Anyway, my point is that it is possible that there are definite differences between what some people call Ops vs other individuals within the flathead species. I've never caught a single flathead. The only ones I've ever seen are swimming in a Cabela's aquarium. I just don't like it when someone calls the opinion of someone else "hilarious"...especially someone as experienced as Lynn.

Im not going to get into a google war, but sometimes you just gotta call a spade a spade!

i would have carved this fish into some steaks.....nothin better to eat than yella cat from clean-runnin river water!

Hookem, I will admit I have thought long and and about that freezer full of meat. How many lbs would have come off that hog?

Lynn, thanks for your thoughts about weight. It will forever be the big mystery.

Headed out again this weekend....hopefully I catch one or two under 50# so I can get a meal in! *wink*

My son (10) and I fish the Colorado. We have done it from Utley to Smithville for the last several years. Our best to date was about 38 pounds. The biggest challenge is checking your line before someone else "helps" you with your work.

Nice 1....

Gus, have you floated from Utley all the way to Smithville? Or do you fish it in parts? I would like to hear about your experience navigating this part of the river.

I have, not all in one day though! We have a 12' jon with a 10 horse 4stroke, it's perfact for the river in my opinion. You are not gonna break any speed records but it does better than 15 mph or so. Shoot me a PM if you have any questions, if I can help I sure will. Do you fish it with kids?

Very nice fish! looks like 55-60 lbs tops. Really doesn't matter as long as you had fun. The best part is that you released it and may catch this one again someday.
I lived in Smithville many years ago and fished from Bastrop to La Grange. Fishing can be pretty good but the fish have very oily meat and don't taste as good as fish from the Brazos. We released everything because of this.
Water quality below Austin was always very poor and only improved below La Grange.
This was in 1988-1990 and things may have changed for the better since then.

I believe water quality has improved, I have not noticed anything like that. We do release the larger fish we catch though.

That was a long time ago and I know Austin was trying to improve their water treatment. I remember there was so much green moss in the water it would clog your prop about every 100 hundred yards!
Nice to hear it is better.

I fish that same area cause it's close to my house. I had a fish take 1 of my poles. Other than that I haven't really caught anything out of that stretch of river. But most of the time I don't have the right bait either.

I am itching to go and catch this big bastard once again!

Nice fish! Especially the luck of getting out there on a day this early when she was hungry! Speaking of eating.....how many "box" fish will she eat this year? I don't even have a guess. It does seem like we have some pretty studied guys on here that could get close though.

Thanks Scooter.

I must point out that I caught this fish last April. I have yet to get out this spring, but I am eager to see if that whale is still swimming around!

Catfish fever is starting to bite for '12

beautiful fish. i applaud u on the cpr too!

Here we have it the elusive op or spotted yellow. (Really a hundred and thirty pound blue some idiot taxidermist painted like a yellow bullhead)

That is a RIVER MONSTER!!

Great fish! There's nothing so fun as running limb lines!