A Texas fly fisherman recently prevailed in a marathon battle with a potential world-record blue catfish.
A Texas fly fisherman last week prevailed in a marathon battle with a potential world-record blue catfish.
Ben Christensen hooked the 31.55-pound catfish while casting an olive-colored creek damsel fly on 12-pound tippet with a 4-weight rod in the Pedernales River.
“I sight casted to the fish and watched it take the fly, then fought it for 40 minutes,” Christensen, of PearlSnap Flyfishing, told Texas Parks and Wildlife.
The agency’s Inland Fisheries San Marcos/Austin District weighed and measured the catfish and announced the catch as a new waterbody record.
However, Christensen could also become a world-record holder.
According to the International Game Fish Assn., the 12-pound tippet record for blue catfish stands at 26 pounds, 4 ounces. That fish was caught in Florida’s Escambia River in 2018.
Christensen on Wednesday told FTW Outdoors that he plans to submit catch details to the IGFA for record consideration.
He said he kept the catfish because he believed it was going to perish after the grueling battle.
“It was old, blind in one eye, and its stomach was empty when we filleted him,” Christensen said. “I took thin fillets off the fish and composted his body in the middle of as piece of land where I hope to plant a wine grape vineyard.”
Of the spirited battle, Christensen stated on Instagram: “It was on like Donkey Kong! Took me to the backing, and I fought him for 40 minutes like we were offshore or something.”
Christensen said he’s writing a book titled, “Fly Fishing in San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country.”
Mention Montana’s Madison River and fly-fishermen salivate. It is a mecca for fly-fishermen, and these images help prove it.
BOZEMAN, Mont. — The mere mention of Montana’s Madison River is enough to make fly-fishermen salivate, what with its high concentration of trout, scenic beauty and prolific wildlife, it’s hard to match. Indeed, it’s a mecca for fly-fishermen.
The Madison River, which starts in Yellowstone National Park and eventually hooks up with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers to form the headwaters of the Missouri River, is a blue-ribbon trout fishery that has been called “a perfect trout stream.”
The town of Ennis, Montana, located near the river, is known as Trout Town, USA. Fly shops abound in the region. One can easily tell it’s trout country, and it’s certainly a special destination.
“What makes the Madison special to me is its variety and consistency,” longtime guide Doug Casey told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “The river is 183 miles long and its character is constantly changing. Every stretch of the river will fish well under the right conditions, and it’s my job as a guide to pick the appropriate stretch each day.
“The trout on the Madison are a good mix of rainbows and browns. Most fish run between 10-15 inches, but it’s a rare day that we don’t at least hook a few fish over 18 inches. My largest trout on a guide trip was a brown that measured just over 25.
“The Madison is also one of the most consistent trout rivers in the world. We catch fish day in and day out. A slow day on the Madison would be a good day by most standards.”
Casey’s assessment proved accurate last week when I joined my longtime friend Don Buchner on a 16-mile float down the Lower Madison with Casey as our guide.
We never went more than 45 minutes without a hookup, we each caught more than 20 trout, and we enjoyed five double hookups (one is documented in the feature photo of this post). I caught a 20-inch-plus rainbow that took biggest fish honors, but Don’s German brown was the fish of the trip in my mind.
And wildlife? We saw a bald eagle, a golden eagle, a moose, a flock of white pelicans and a beaver. As for humans? Unlike the more crowded Upper Madison, we never saw another float boat and only saw one other fly-fisher, who was about to wade the river. It proved to be a fly-fishing paradise.
So, relive the journey with us as we present photos from our trip down the Madison River, along with our wading the Madison on our own near Trout Town. We also visit Ennis and West Yellowstone where trout is king, and include a couple of fishermen enjoying the upper reaches of the Madison inside Yellowstone National Park. And we finish off with other nice catches by clients of Doug Casey (who, incidentally, can be contacted at Dougcaseyfishing@gmail.com or 406-890-8304). Enjoy!
The beauty of the Madison shines through the smoky conditions.One of Don Buchner’s better rainbows of the day.The author’s catch of the day.Guide Doug Casey doesn’t hesitate to change flies if one pattern isn’t working.A couple more hookups (above and below).
Another nice catch.They’re not all big, but they all are beautiful.A flock of white pelicans along the river.An unexpected sighting of a moose.The Hoot Owl regulations has us stopping at 2 p.m. We enjoy a beer as Casey paddles us a couple miles down to our take-out location.A successful trip down the Madison is complete.If you’re wade fishing the Madison, it’s a good idea to be carrying bear spray.Don Buchner found a great spot along the bank of the Madison River near Ennis, and caught the chunky rainbow below.
Ennis is known as Trout Town, USA, so this piece of artwork fits the town perfectly.A fly atop a fly shop in Ennis.A little guide to help anglers choose the right fly.Erected in June 1993, the “Madison Valley Angler” stands at the entrance of Ennis. The plaque reads: “Donated to the town of Ennis, its fine people and to the entire Madison Valley…Also for the donors’ enjoyment of fly fishing the Madison and other rivers in the great state of Montana.”
A fly shop in Bozeman.A fly shop in West Yellowstone.Another West Yellowstone fly shop with a collection of hats from fishermen, fish photos and a mount of a German brown on the wall.
Yet another fly shop in West Yellowstone, with a handy fishing report.
Greeting anglers as they walk into Big Sky Anglers fly shop is this hand-drawn map of the region by renowned fly-fisherman Dave Whitlock.Gotta love the wood-carved trout.The Madison River inside Yellowstone National Park.A young angler inside Yellowstone National Park catches a small brown trout (above and below).
Another angler tries his skills inside Yellowstone.
And now, here are some of the more beautiful catches by Casey’s clients from the Madison River, with a few scenic shots thrown in:
If you’re a fly-fisherman, a trip down the Madison River ought to be on your bucket list. A world-class fishery awaits.
A fly fisherman was casting a streamer for bass and carp Saturday at New York’s Onondaga Lake when he spotted two enormous goldfish.
A fly fisherman was casting a streamer for bass and carp Saturday at New York’s Onondaga Lake when he spotted two enormous goldfish.
“I tried catching them a few times, but with no luck. But just as I was getting ready to leave, I finally hooked one,” Joe Selover, of North Syracuse, told Syracuse.com.
Goldfish, members of the carp family, are native to East Asia and listed as an “uncommon species” in Onondaga Lake. They’ve gained a foothold in several New York waters thanks to an illegal practice called aquarium dumping.
In these larger water bodies they can attain much larger sizes than most aquariums allow. But catches by recreational fishermen are still considered rare.
Selover’s goldfish was a whopper, measuring 14.5 inches. He hooked the fish at the mouth of Bloody Brook, and it made a long run up the brook and beneath a parkway.
After about 10 minutes, Selover gained the upper hand. But he had left his net in his car, so he asked an onlooker to hold his rod while he fetched the net.
According to Syracuse.com, Selover released the goldfish after snapping a photo of his catch next to his fly rod.
According to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, goldfish have been documented in 15 state watersheds. The Adirondack Mountains is the only region where goldfish are not established.
The last known catch in Onondaga Lake occurred in 2019.
An Idaho fly-fishing guide broke a weeks-old state record recently with the catch and release of a 31-inch Yellowstone cutthroat trout on the Snake River.
An Idaho fly-fishing guide has broken a weeks-old state record with the catch and release of a 31-inch Yellowstone cutthroat trout on the Snake River.
Nate Burr of Rexburg landed the cutthroat after three days of uneventful fishing with a friend – and after the fish had led them on a half-mile drift-boat chase downstream.
“It was one of those brutally slow days,” Burr, 23, said of the Sept. 8 evening catch, announced by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game on Friday. “Hunting big trout on streamer [flies] means a day on the water can go from zero to 100 in a split second. That was exactly the case with this fish.”
Burr told For The Win Outdoors that he and his friend (Tanner) had floated the same section of river for three days, seeking only large fish and taking turns rowing, before the massive Yellowstone cutthroat announced its presence.
“I was fishing a white streamer that would swim about a foot under the surface,” said Burr, an area guide. “I threw a long cast to the shallow side of the run and began stripping the fly through the run. Before the fly hit the deep water a massive shape appeared from upstream charging down toward the fly.
“One-third of the trout’s back was out of the water as he made his first charge.”
The cutthroat was hooked after a third charge, and led the anglers on a swift downriver pursuit.
According to the IDFG, Yellowstone cutthroat trout measuring 30 inches or more are “exceedingly rare” in rivers. They can grow larger in deep-water lakes, such as Yellowstone Lake in the Wyoming portion of Yellowstone National Park.
Inside Yellowstone National Park, native cutthroat trout are an important prey source for critters such as bears, otters, and mink.
In Idaho, Yellowstone cutthroat trout are found in the eastern region and native to the Snake River from Shoshone Falls upstream to the headwaters.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout are one of four subspecies of trout found in Idaho.
Idaho’s catch-and-release record program, which began in 2016, is designed to encourage conservation among anglers who land trophy-size fish.
Theo Anest accomplished a rare feat recently by landing a yellowfin tuna from shore, while using spinning gear, on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
Theo Anest accomplished a rare feat recently by landing a yellowfin tuna from shore, while using spinning gear, on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
But as Anest reeled the 37-pound tuna toward the beach, another remarkable event occurred: Several massive roosterfish, seemingly attracted by the commotion, accompanied the hooked tuna into the surf zone.
This placed them within fly-casting range and before long, local guide Lance Peterson was battling an estimated 80-pound roosterfish on a fly rod.
Images show Theo Anest (left) and Lance Peterson with their tuna and roosterfish. Credit: Theo Anest
“The tuna was spotted and specifically cast to,” Peterson, owner of Lance Peterson Fishing, told For The Win Outdoors. “I was hoping a few of its buddies would swim in for a look as it neared the beach, and sure enough there were some curious onlookers; mostly giant roosters.”
The catches were made early last month in Baja California Sur’s East Cape region. But photos were not shared until last week, with Peterson describing the event on Facebook as “a truly rare double hookup from shore.”
Catching yellowfin tuna from shore is not unheard of, but it’s rare considering that the pelagic fish are generally found in schools several miles offshore.
Roosterfish, however, are a coastal species prized by East Cape anglers because of their exotic appearance, size and power. Anglers typically release their catches to preserve the vulnerable fishery.
Peterson was searching for roosterfish when he spotted the yellowfin tuna feeding on forage fish. He texted Anest and told him to bring spinning gear.
Anest, a sales representative for Scott Fly Rods, arrived with a long spinning rod and cast a silver metal lure toward the tuna.
“They never quite came into fly range but we could see waves of them passing through an area 40 to 100 yards off the beach,” Anest recalled. “As soon as I hooked the tuna, 100 curious grande roosters that were lurking in the vicinity followed that tuna in.
“However, when Lance made that cast we were still certain they were all tuna until about 20 giant combs [roosterfish dorsal fins] came out of the water.”
Added Peterson: “We had sighted several tuna that day, but they were lock-jawed. Eventually Theo stuck one. The commotion brought in several fish to investigate, among them a pack of giant roosters.
“I was convinced I had managed to hook the smallest specimen in the group, which makes me wonder how big the others were!”
Anest kept the tuna, while Peterson released the roosterfish after posing for a quick series of images.
Any roosterfish over 50 pounds is considered a prize catch, especially on a fly rod. The all-tackle world record – a 114-pound roosterfish caught off La Paz, north of the East Cape – has stood since 1960.
A Florida angler’s catch of a massive permit could shatter a world record that has stood for 21 years.
A Florida angler’s catch of a massive permit could shatter a world record that has stood for 21 years.
Kathryn Vallilee, while fly fishing recently off Key West, landed a 21-pound permit on 6-pound tippet. If her line-class record application is approved she she will have broken the existing record – set in 1999 – by more than 11 pounds.
“The fight for me was so tense because I knew this fish was the one,” Vallilee, who was fishing with Capt. Brandon Cyr, told For The Win Outdoors. “And I think my focus on fighting it was what makes that memory so vivid. When Brandon got the fish in the net, I just felt a wave of relief wash over me.”
The International Game Fish Assn. announced Vallilee’s March 22 catch this month via Twitter and the angler, who already holds the line-class record for 4-pound tippet, expects her record to be approved in the coming weeks.
Permit, a favorite among south Florida fly anglers, are tough fighters that travel in schools over sandy flats.
Vallilee, with Cyr as guide, has been trying for the 6-pound tippet record since early 2020. On March 22, she fell just short with a morning catch weighing 9.5 pounds (the record stands at 9 pounds, 12 ounces). But later in the day she and Cyr saw three much larger permit moving like shadows over the white sand.
“Even at a distance these fish seemed to be larger than the ones we had hooked previously,” said Vallilee, who was casting a Skok’s Strong Arm Merkin fly. “Hooking that fish is a bit of a blur to me, but I remember stripping a few times basically just to keep the slack out of the line before coming tight to one of the fish.”
The permit remained with the school briefly before darting into a nearby channel. “And this made us pretty nervous,” Vallilee explained, “because you never know what is on the bottom for the fish to wrap the line around and break off.”
Vallilee, who owns a Key West fly-fishing shop with her husband, said the process of weighing, photographing and releasing the permit was accomplished in less than a minute.
“It’s so gratifying after an experience like that to see the fish shoot off like a bullet and think, ‘Maybe I’ll see you again someday,’ ” she said.
–Images showing Kathryn Vallilee and Capt. Brandon Cyr are courtesy of Amber Rose
