12 September 2015 – Catch Report from: Steve & Bill

Cat fishing experts go all out for a big moggie: using classic cat fishing tactics and specialist gear, they equal the lake record!

This week we had the pleasure of welcoming two brothers that have been coming to France and fishing for carp and cats for 20 years! With PB carp in the mid/upper fifties they’d not chosen Beausoleil to catch bigger carp. For them, this week, it would be all about our big catfish. With catfish PB’s in the mid sixties, breaking through this barrier is very achievable at Beausoleil and within a few hours of arriving, Bill had already done so with an 81lb specimen first chuck from Catfish Corner. Taken on half a tin of luncheon meat over pellet it was a fantastic start to the session. With that things went a little quiet so Bill decided to try live baiting a freshly caught roach. Bill used a polyball rig and winch rod to suspend the bait 2ft below the surface and, after a tentative take, found himself well and truly attached to a real beast! Bill and Steve use dedicated cat fishing rods of 4.5lb TC. The reels are heavy duty fixed spools that can handle the 0.50mm 70lb Dip Chromium Pro mainline with ease. Hook links are 80-100lb Berkeley whiplash and hooks are barbless eagle wave. Serious kit for serious anglers, we like it!

Using this gear Bill tamed the 105lbs monster in a little over 20 minutes and Steve summoned every ounce of strength he had to haul the beast onto the custom built catfish landing platform. The new continental size (9′ x 3ft’) Catmaster catfish mats are a perfect fit for the platform and the brothers were very complimentary of the quality of the specialist catfish handling equipment we provide. Bill managed another two smaller catfish of mid sixty and mid fifty and only lost one cat to a hook pull. Awesome work mate!

Over in Point ‘C’, Steve patiently waited for his chance. He’d hooked what he described as a Kraken sized monster that made an unstoppable run towards the end of the island. At one stage Steve told me it was as though the catfish was trying to climb onto the island! Despite the right tools and all the experience, the 40lb mainline did fail and the catfish won the day. Steve was gutted of course but never lost faith or focus and never showed a glimmer of frustration. On Saturday, we were delighted to hear that Steve’s chance finally turned up at Friday lunchtime in the shape of an 84lb beast! A new PB by some margin and a capture that I’m sure will stay richly embedded in his angling memories.

Steve and Bill came here with one objective, they achieved it and they did it with plenty of smiles and laughs along the way! It was an absolute pleasure to meet them and hope that we get the chance to welcome them back one day.