As you’ll read in Monday’s paper, there were two 100-pound-plus catfish caught during last week’s two-day catfishing tournament on the Mississippi River.

The name of the tournament was actually the “Bass Pro Shops Big Cat Quest National Championship.”

But honestly, I get winded just typing that. So we’ll just call it “the tournament.”

Anyways, the first of the gigantic catfish weighed 103 pounds. It was caught Saturday morning by Corinth, Miss., fisherman Phil King.
Phil is a heck of a nice guy and the absolute best catfishing guide on Pickwick Lake. If you ever decide to hire a catfish guide on Pickwick, he’s the one.

He was fishing the tournament with his regular fishing partners and fellow Corinth residents Leland Harris and Tim Haynie.

Instead of drifting in the current as they usually do, they were anchoring on the main body of the river. They were using big pieces of cut skipjack. I mean really big. I’ve fished with them in the past when they used bait that was actually bigger than the fished I’m used to catching.

They were anchoring upstream from heavy structure and letting out just enough line to put the baits in the strike zone. They were using 7/0 Daiichi Hooks on 80-pound Ultra-Cast Spiderwire and 60-pound fluorocarbon leaders.

To manhandle those giant catfish out of the thick Mississippi River structure, they used custom rods from the Rod Shop in Kansas City. Specifically, they used the No. 3 model from the Phil King Signature Series.

Phil said when he first hooked the fish it “made a run toward Tunica.” Then by the time he could wrestle the fish to the surface, he was literally down on his knees on the deck of the boat, hanging on for dear life.

They had to ditch the anchor and follow the fish with the boat to keep it from breaking the line. Then luckily, when Phil finally wrestled the fish to the surface, Tim scooped it up with the dip net before it could make another run.

Phil told me just three months ago that he truly believed a 100-pound catfish would eventually be caught in a major tournament. At the time, I don’t think he actually thought he’d be the one to catch it. But it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

What’s most amazing about this story to me is that Phil’s 103-pounder didn’t take big-fish honors in the tournament.

For about 24 hours, it was recognized as the largest catfish ever caught in a competitive event. Then Cary Winchester brought one in on Sunday that was five pounds heavier.

See if you notice some similarities in the story:

Winchester and his tournament partner Harold Dodd were anchoring and using skipjack for bait. They caught the big fish on a “gut pocket” and a “backbone.”

Winchester was using a No.3 Rod Shop rod from the John Jamison Signature Series. Evidently, these are some killer rods. I met the guy who owns the company, Tom Knox. He said they make rods for all occasions – catfishing, trout fishing, bass fishing, crappie fishing, etc.

Winchester and Dodd were using Quantum Cabo Reels with 100-pound test braded Power Pro line. They were using 60-pound Trilene Big Game line for their leaders.

Winchester said it took 30 minutes to get the fish to the surface and another 15 minutes to get it in the boat.

I don’t think he’s exaggerating at all. It took four grown men to load that fish into the on-site aquarium, and it looked like a sea monster inside the glass.

All in all, it was a pretty amazing weekend of catfishing – and most of the fishermen agreed there are probably bigger fish swimming in the Mississippi.