posted by Gary on Jul 6

We started the week out in Charleston South Carolina, I went  down to the pier at Folly Beach. There were plenty of black tip sharks to go around. Those little guys were attacking people baits. One fishermen managed to catch a nice 7 pound black drum amid all the shark attacks.

Later in the week me and 2 friends went to one of my favorite fishing spots, Santee Cooper, to fish for catfish. We arrived at Goat Island around 8:30 pm and caught a quick cheeseburger at the Goat Island Restaurant. After that we loaded the pontoon and headed out for the night. The fish were really biting slow, the water temp in the coves was 90 degrees .

We tried a few spots with no success the moved over near the old river bed and anchored up for the night. 
Around 2:00 am we had a hit on a large live 10″ gizzard shad, he hit it hard. After Brandon battled the beast in the dark we got a glimpse of him before he dove again, it was a blue catfish and it looked like a nice one. When he landed it ,we weighed it at just over 30 pounds, a very nice blue catfish and Brandon’s first over 10 pounds. Upon inspecting the blue while removing the hook we could see some serious damage on the inside of this fishes mouth, its mouth had a large wound and the body had several line scrapes. This is indicative of escaping from a trot line. After pictures we looked it over and made the decision that the fish would survive and released him back into the lake to grow and be caught another day.

Gone Fishin Club member Brandon Kohler with a nice 30 pound blue catfish.

I always encourage releasing catfish over 20 pounds unless they have been hooked in a life threatening manner or in this fishes case had other wounds, make a good evaluation and if it is doubtful that the fish will survive by al means take the fish otherwise let him go and grow.

Around 2:45 we had our next bite on a live 3″ bream, it was a solid hook up and the line was running off the spool. Tonia picked up the rod and started trying to turn the fish as she started cranking down on the reel. We scrambled to get the other lines out of the way or out of the water as she drew the big fish closer to the boat. Finally when the fish was landed we got to see the nice flathead. It weighed in at 22 pounds and after pictures we put it back also.

Gone Fishin Club Member Tonia Harbin holds a 22 pound flathead.

Time for a quick nap and at 3:30 another rod went down, I reeled in the 17 pound flathead, took pics and released him back to grow up.

Gary Turner with a nice 17 pound Flathead Catfish.

We caught several more fish that night, including another 20 pound flathead Tonia caught and a 9 pound gar that I caught just after sunrise, that wrapped up 5 lines and made a real mess of things.

Tonia Harbin with another good 20 pound flathead catfish.

We had a great time catching catfish on Santee Cooper in June even if it was pretty hot.

I’m looking forward to going to Santee again in July.  Look for Gone Fishin Club’s Video’s on YouTube or click here  to go there now.

Have Fun Fishing!!!  Gary

posted by Gary on Jan 20

The 1½-acre fishing lake near the main facility at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center may have the heaviest fishing pressure of any Texas fishing hole. An estimated 30,000 anglers a year fish in the small pond near Athens.

You’d think it would be difficult for a catfish to grow to trophy size there with 30,000 people fishing every year, yet Janice Arnsdorff caught a 22-pounder while fishing in December.

Arnsdorff manages TFFC’s angler pavilion and is one of five people certified by Texas Parks and Wildlife as a Freshwater Elite Angler.

An Elite Angler has landed and documented trophy-sized fish of at least five species. Arnsdorff also has several catch-and-release and water body records to her credit.

 An unidentified second-grader subsequently caught an 18-pound catfish from the same pond. What about that, how would you like to catch an 18 pounder when you were in 2nd grade. What a smile that must have made!

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) combines visitation and outdoor education with a production fish hatchery. Its mission is to provide an educational, entertaining visitor experience that promotes freshwater sport fishing and the enhancement, conservation and stewardship of aquatic resources in Texas.

Hall of Fame

Inside, the Visitor Center houses a Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame honoring men and women whose efforts have helped conserve natural resources and improve Texas fishing. A museum area showcases replicas of state record fish and the equipment anglers use, including an example of the first bass boat ever built, a 1948 Skeeter. Exhibits in the hatchery gallery give an overview of how hatcheries produce the millions of fish stocked into public waters each year.

The TFFC was also home to Splash, the former world record blue catfish. She came to live at the center on January 14, 2004, after being caught from Lake Texoma by Cody Mullennix of Howe, Texas. At 121.5 pounds, she was the largest blue catfish ever caught and held that record until a 124-pound fish was caught from the Mississippi River in 2005. Splash is still the Texas state record blue catfish. Splash died in December 2005.

During her time at TFFC, Splash was responsible for a large increase in visitation. She was the star of the daily dive show during which she ate chicken, herring or mackerel from the diver’s hand. She was especially popular with children. On the first anniversary of her arrival at TFFC, nearly 800 people came to see her, and 133 children brought hand-made birthday cards. “You are my idol,” one said. Many others simply said, “I love you.”

Splash will be missed by TFFC staff members and by untold numbers of people who regarded her as a very special fish. She is survived by thousands of descendants in Lake Texoma. A life-size replica is being prepared for display in the record fish area of TFFC, and her skeleton will be preserved for display as well.

This is a picture of Splash the Former World Record Blue Catfish

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center is located on FM 2495,  just off State Highway 31, in  Athens, TX
For more information please call them at  903-676-2277

Go catch some Big Catfish!!! 
For more info on catching big catfish go here  How To Catch Big Catfish