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(probable) new state record CHANNEL cat from zumbro


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Here is the story.......which is very poorly written. First they just say catfish (not channel or flathead) and they also use the term....SNAGGED! They SNAGGED the fish...HA........I do not think these guys snagged the fish....pretty poor choice of words by a writer, writing about something they don't understand. But....Congrats to these guys and congrats on letting the fish go!

Here is the world class rochester reporting:

http://www.kttc.com/News/index.php?ID=15305

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Well although poorly reported, I still think it's cool!

I wonder if some of the monsters we had on ice fishing last year were channels of near that size. DzNuts had a huge one on a couples of times before they came unhooked. Sounds like the same area too. Congrats to the anglers if they are reading this.

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Whatever happenned to journalistic prowess to ensure accurate information is accurate?

I fished zumbro lake once and I snagged...didn't catch, snagged rocks.

LOL's

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Man, what a fish! That's totally sweet to know there are fish that big in the Zum. Congrats fellas and major kudos on the release.

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Crick, maybe someone higher on the senority list can lend us some money to buy a boat!! I just want to catch a few cats this year, something that size would obviously be far above my expectations.

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shoot me an email wks1974 at yahoo (Contact Us Please) com

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Rugby-Maybe we can share some shorline sometime soon on the Zum. I'm thinking the two of us might have some free time coming up soon so we won't be having to get up so early, and might be able to do some night fishing. grin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gif

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Dang I wish that video was a little better!

One thing I've learned over the years is that the stories surrounding monster or record fish are always sketchy. confused.gif There's only one photo, video is bad, etc, etc. I just want more proof man! smile.gif

What I do know is there is no doubt in my mind that the photo is of a huge channel cat. I can clearly see the rounded anal fin in the video. Coloring and body shape are indicative of a channel cat as well rather than a blue.

If the story is true, and I have no reason to doubt that it isn't, thats an amazing catch! And a big thumbs up to the anglers for letting that beauty go!

You just never know where a big cat will turn up at.

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I've watched the newscast over and over and over again trying to get a feel for how big that fish really is. The part that troubles me is the video of the fish in the net when they are trying to pick it up. Thats not a 40lb fish in the net. My best guess giving them the benefit of the doubt is 25lbs and 38" which is still one heck of a channel cat anywhere. At one point, the gentleman trying to grab the fish could almost get his entire hand across the width of the fish.

I guess my opinion is its a really good fish, but not as good as we are led to believe.

So... I'm going to be a party pooper and wave the BS flag. Great story, great photoshop work, and really bad acting on camera. They looked really twitchy and nervous on camera, maybe they were just nervous, I don't know. But that is what makes me question it more than anything.

As more proof... I'd like to present Exhibit 'A'. smile.gif

rrlengthgirthyq8.jpg

This is a length/weight chart from a fellow angler who goes by the handle 'RB'. (I hope he does not mind me posting this info but will gladly remove it if not). They measured and weighed 163 channel cats they caught from the Red River and compiled them into this table.

What is clearly obvious is the curve of length to weight. A 38" channel cat is going to be near 25-28lbs. But a 30" channel cat is going to weigh in that 12-15lb range. If you do the math, a 50" channel cat is going to be way, way, way over 40lbs.

How about Exhibit 'B' smile.gif

This photo is from Stu up on the Red River at Selkirk.

Dimensions on this pig were 40" length x 26" girth, weight in the mid-thirties.

100_0704.jpg

Oh well... enough of my rant. Ya'll can judge it for yourself. Criticize me if you wish. smile.gif

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Like the poster on the X files, I want to believe. The problem is I just can't buy into fifty inches. I fish almost primarily the Zumbro upstream from the lake all the way to Oronoco and the biggest I have seen is a 34. Have one 31 already this year but 50?

The cats are definitely biting, ate kittys all last weekend.

I would really be interested in getting some boats out on a nightime friendly tourney sometime if anyone is interested.

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Quote:

I would really be interested in getting some boats out on a nightime friendly tourney sometime if anyone is interested.


Humm... That gets the wheels a turning upstairs...

Dano, whatchagot?

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Huge channel, especially for the Zumbro! But I agree with Hanson that the measurements probably aren't correct on this one. Looks like a fat 37-38 incher to me.

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You know darn well you could count me in on something like that Tyler!

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First Hogzilla and now this fish. It does a soul good to see a true sportsman return a big catch to the water. He can now continue to grow and populate the lake with more of his large offspring. Too bad this will probably spark a lot of interest for some fool to try and catch the monster so they can mount it on their wall.

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  • 1 month later...

I try and fish Zumbro lake 5-6 times a year... like my username says... I don't get out much. BUT, I caught a cat fish (no details and I don't know what kind). I caught it on a jig head a twisty tail and 12 lb line... at first I thought I caught a ROCK. Didn't move, but didn't want to come in either. After about 20 minutes (I was afaid to break the line), I got the thing up to the boat. My guess, it was in the 20 lb range and about 30" in length. I tried to use my cheap net to hall it in, but the poll started to bend, so I reached into the mouth with my needle nose and unhooked it and turned the net over and let it go. Biggest thing I ever caught, but if I had a choice, I'ld catch sunnies instead... what a fight they put up :-)

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Dan and Tyler I think it is a great Idea to get some guys for a little night fishing. Here kitty kitty. Tyler you have my e-mail I believe let me know. I think I could get a few boats lined up. laugh.gif

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
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