An Arizona angler pulled off a remarkable feat recently by reeling a 42-pound flathead catfish from a canal near his home after an epic battle on light line.
“I had no idea something that big would be in there,” Trino Diaz, of Peoria, told FTW Outdoors.
Diaz, 28, was fishing with Ryan Leren on the morning of Sept. 21. Diaz used 10-pound-test line, sufficient for the carp, striped bass and bluegill he was catching.
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But then the catfish struck a chicken liver used as bait, and in the ensuing 45-minute battle Diaz hurried a quarter-mile alongside the canal to keep pace with the fleeing fish.
“After the first 10 minutes or so, and not seeing the fish, I told Ryan that I possibly have my personal record,” Diaz recalled. “I didn’t want to rush or manhandle the fish since I was using 10-pound-test line and not expecting to catch anything that big.”
The anglers first saw the “monster” 25 minutes into the battle. After another 20 minutes they realized that the fish was too large for the net.
“He was so big only his head fit in the net,” Diaz said, adding that ultimately he and Leren simply tossed the net and catfish onto the bank so the fish could be weighed before it was released.
“We could not believe how big the fish was,” Diaz said. “Needless to say, it shattered my personal best by over 30 pounds.”
For the sake of comparison, the Arizona record for flathead catfish is 76-pounds, 8 ounces. But that fish was caught from a boat on lake, on much heavier line.
–Image courtesy of Trino Diaz