James River, VA

[Machias]

I took first place in a Wounded Warrior/Disabled Vets fishing tournament today on the James River.  Caught my biggest ever blue catfish.  A real toad at 59 lbs.  I was using fresh cut shad.  What a fish, thought it was a striper until I got it to the surface and it rolled on the surface.   

[sumbeech66]

Nice job! 
looks like fun.

[Gobble Doc]

Awesome job.  Nice. 

[Heredoggydoggy]

Nice pics, but I've never seen a catfish in a red jacket--OH, sorry....   My parents lived in Hampton, after they retired, and the little church in Phoebus where they were married, in 1944, is still there!  if Dad had gotten discharged from the Army a week later, I'd be a Viginian instead of a Birch-bark Yankee.... 

[Thenewguy]

Nice work Machias

[Turner89]

Cool, How big do those things get?

[Machias]

Thanks guys, the current state record is 143 pounder caught in 2011,  but anything over 30 pounds is considered a trophy.  The guy I was fishing with today is a hardcore blue cat hunter and his personal best is 56.

Here is a photo of the VA State record

[Bone_Collector]

  nice work and nice fish!

B_C

[ribka]

Nice catch Fred How deep and how much weight?

. The James holds some big cats and smallies.

you're having too much fun out there on the E coast 

[mulehunter]

   Glad you had fun!!!!

[Machias]

Nice catch Fred How deep and how much weight?

. The James holds some big cats and smallies.

you're having too much fun out there on the E coast 

We wer anchored on 17 feet, had baits on one side of the boat soaking in 25 feet and my fish came out of 8 foot, off a feeder creek.  We were using 10 and 12 oz weights.

[rasbo]

thats awesome fred,cool pics ...

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Wholely catfish!!!!!

[cohoho]

Right on Fred, awesome job.  Heading back to WV this summer and will be hitting them in the Ohio River again....

[Machias]

Right on Fred, awesome job.  Heading back to WV this summer and will be hitting them in the Ohio River again....

Good luck!  What part of WV?