13 LB 14 OZ Catfish and 15.25" Shad @ Mullet Lake Park

Today I decided to bring my catfish rod since yesterday was so slow, at least it would give me something to do incase the shad weren't biting. For bait I used cut shad on a 3/0 Owners Light Mutu hook. Right off the bat I had a small catfish maybe 12-14" long, and it was released without a picture. Then I caught a beast from the river. It felt big and it wasn't coming in easy. As I reeled in I noticed it suddenly came to a dead stop. The fish wasn't moving and the line felt like it was stuck. I think the fish found some underwater cover briefly, like a large log maybe. I waited a few seconds for it to come out and it did, so I reeled it in the rest of the way. It was close enough now to get a good look at it and saw it was a huge catfish. How exciting! Landed and unhooked it so I could put it on the scale. This big catfish weighed almost 14 LB! (13lb 14oz to be exact). This is my second biggest catfish of all time woo hoo! After taking a few pictures I let it go.

So now for the shad update. Today I only used 1/16th oz jigheads, hoping the smaller lures would increase strikes. I also respooled my light spinning reel with 8lb Spiderwire Stealth braided line and this has increased my casting distance alot. I started with chartreuse grubtails and didn't have any hits. I then switched over to smoke silver flake and still no luck. It wasn't until later in the day when I switched over to white w/ pink jighead and finially got my first shad. This one actually made an acrobatic leap out of the water right in front of me, so awesome! Thankfully the hook was still on and pulled it up onto the bank. Measured it at 15.25" long to the fork, which makes this my longest shad of the season. This is also my 5th shad of the derby run. I tossed the white grub out some more and got another brief strike. It felt like the shad bit the tail without the hook. Unfortunately by now it was time for me to go, figures right when the shad start biting. Well the fishing was good today, even though it was slow at times I still came out with good fish.

Location: Mullet Lake Park river bank, Geneva FL
Tackle: 3/0 Owners Light Mutu hook on carolina rig - 3 oz no-roll sinker

Species: Channel Catfish
Weight: 13 LB 14 OZ
Bait: frozen shad