Personal Best 6 LB Gafftopsail Catfish - Flat Bridge

Hit the flat bridge with Zack Wednesday night. A little bit of a late start since we arrived at 11:30pm. Tide was slack when we arrived and just starting to move out. Tonight I also got to bring my new pier drop net that was purchased at Gander Mountain. It's a 36" diameter steel ring basket with a 100' of rope. I was definitly hoping to use it for the first time.
The bite was slow tonight for jigging. So nothing to talk about on the jig report. So we cut the ladyfish up and waited. My first cast I got a good run but the fish dropped the bait before I could even grab the rod. Then I get a nice hit and the fish is on. My first instinct tells me it's a shark with the sudden long runs during the fight. Then the moment of truth, I get a look and it's a big sail catfish. My personal best in fact, 6 lb 2 oz! Picture below shows him laying in my 36" drop net.
Before we left, I noticed we still had a whole ladyfish leftover for bait. So I told Zack we're both going to use a 5-6" filet off this thing and see if we can catch a monster on our last cast. I had two nice hits but the hook didn't set, so no fish. I'm starting to question the 8/0 j-hook with all the missed hookups tonight, and next time I'm switching back to circle hooks to see if that makes a difference in my hookup ratio.

Gafftopsail Catfish
Location: Flat Bridge (Port Orange)
Bait: cut ladyfish
Tackle: single strand wire leader - 8/0 Owners SSW Cutting Point Bait Hook