Blue Catfish on the James River, VA

[Machias]

Took my youngest son out for a day of Blue Catfish fishing. We caught 5 citation fish, 37, 40, 48, 51 and 51. All 5 fish were released.

Catching shad for bait.  It was 22 degrees when we started, but was 50 and sunny during the day.  Just a fantastic day on the river.

[rasbo]

OOOOO yeah,thats awesome right there

[huntnphool]

 Those are some fatties right there.

 No issues releasing those fish when they are bleeding?

[Machias]

No it was from the lip area, they swam off just fine.  We had them out, weighed, and photographed really quickly.

[huntnphool]

No it was from the lip area, they swam off just fine.  We had them out weighed, photographed really quickly.

 That's cool, do they put up a decent fight?

[Machias]

Yea very nice fight, the water temps are still 58 degrees, so the big boys are feeling pretty frisky!

[snake]

what is a "citation" fish? 

[Machias]

what is a "citation" fish? 

Virginia has a Trophy Fish registration program.  If you have your fish weighed by a certified scale and it meets the minimum weight it can be entered for a citation or certificate and can vie for angler of the month/year awards.  For Blue catfish in Virginia they have to be at least 30 pounds to qualify for trophy fish status.

[Bill W]

I caught some "citation" sized fish back during the time I was in the Navy in Maryland.  The biggest was a crappie I caught on my first outing with a rod/reel checked out from Special Services.   I thought all crappie were that sized but never caught another one like it in the 3 years I lived there.  My others were yellow perch as I remember.

[Mark251]

Those things are massive!  Very cool 

[KopperBuck]

That's killer. Is this self guided? I would love to do this someday.

[Machias]

That's killer. Is this self guided? I would love to do this someday.

No this trip was a guided trip I booked for my youngest boy for a combined Birthday and Christmas gift.

[Mr Mykiss]

Awesome trip!! Bleeding catfish problems?? You can't kill a catfish unless you use a RPG!! Or two.

[shootem]

That looks like a lot of fun.

[Trapper John]

Nice cats 
 I'll be seeing you in spring for some cat fishing for sure
JC.