just to be disappointed

I caught a big one myself Saturday night. Thump on a Texas rig, hookset...and drag stripping like crazy. When it didn't come up I knew I had the wrong species.

Same thing happened here lol

After about 4 seconds I knew it was too good to be true.

On a private lake with "nothing but bass in it" I tail hooked a catfish almost that big with a DD22. I thought the tail action was head shaking and I was ready to call and get my record certified the whole time I was reeling it in.

I can relate. Nice kitty though.

Happened to me several times. As I was reeling them in I was thinking where I was going to put the mount.

The cat's were not nearly that big though. That must have been a hell of a fight

Or you hook something big and it keeps pulling down like a bass and you finally get it close to the boat and it's a boulder that your hook is wedged into lol

A big Drum can fool you for a little while as well.

Bet the fight was good!

Yep, been there done that. "Get the net"!!

Happened at a night tournament once. I knew it was no record but big bass money definitely flashed in my mind. Got it to the boat and seen the whiskers and all my steam was gone. I was just ready to go home. Weighed it and was just over 9lbs.

I've caught flat heads up to 85 lbs. on plastic worms right on the very boat ramps that many fishermen hurry to leave in search of big fish. This will last from late Spring until mid-Summer when air temps hit near 100.

It takes very stout line and very big hooks. You can feel the hit resonate through solid concrete.

Set the hook , action starts , most of the time line starts slicing up then I get ready , line doesn't start coming up all well , but the line can fool ya sometimes .

I was throwing a frog a month ago and was catching some good bass on it. They were not exploding on it but were just slurping it under the surface. As I was fishing along my frog was slurped under the surface like it had been all morning and I set the hook into what felt like a giant bass. I got really excited thinking I had a giant bass only to be disappointed when I got the fish half way to the boat and saw that it was a big catfish. It was the first time I have caught a catfish on a top water frog.

I foul hooked a 7 lb catfish in the tail with a flutter spoon in my first Skeeter owner's tourney. I thought for sure I had just won a boat! They sure can put up a fight when they're not facing the boat.

Tournament on Fork a few years back, my partner was pitching at a male on the bed and the big over female was cruising around. I was flipping at a few stumps off the back and saw her cruise toward my jig. WHAM! The fight was on! between me and about a 6lb grinnell. For a minute I thought I had just won a boat!