Thursday, May 28, 2009
James River catfish breaks 100-pound barrier
Bill Cochran
Recent columns
When Tim Wilson landed the biggest freshwater fish ever recorded in Virginia, his fishing buddy tried to get him to toss the huge blue catfish back into the James River.
“He ain’t that big,” said Danny Ayers, Wilson’s outdoor companion and cousin.
As it turned out, Ayers was wrong. The 52 3/4-inch fish landed May 20 was certified at 102 pounds, 4 ounces. It is a pending Virginia record. No freshwater catch of any species ever has broken the 100-pound barrier.
You could see it coming. The tidal section of the James River in the Richmond area has been producing monster blue catfish that have been getting bigger each year. The area has established itself as one of the top catfish hot spots in the nation.
The current blue cat record is a 95-pound, 11-ounce giant landed June 15, 2006 by Archie Gold, a tournament catfish angler from Jetersville.
Everything looks good for Wilson’s fish to be certified as a Virginia record in a couple of weeks, according to Department of Game and Inland Fisheries officials. It was examined by DGIF fisheries biologist Bob Greenlee and was weighed on certified scales.
Wilson, who lives in Natural Bridge, has fished for cats in the James for more than 20 years, but it wasn’t until a couple years ago that this endeavor took a turn toward becoming a big-fish passion. Even his email address contains the words “big fish.”
Last year, he fished the river one or two times a week, spring through November.
“We caught a lot of citation-size fish,” he said. “The biggest thing we ever caught was in the 50-pound range.”
But etched in his mind has been the big one that got away last year when it became tangled in his anchor rope. Wilson estimated it would weigh 70 or 80 pounds.
That fish suddenly flashed into his mind last week when an outing on the river began slowly. After trying an initial hole, he and Ayers headed to the spot where the big fish had made its escape.
Wilson anchored in shallow water, baited five hefty rods with what he calls the tenderloin cut of a shad and tossed the offerings into a deep-water hole. Fifteen minutes passed and one of the rod tips started twitching. It appeared to be a small fish, but Wilson has been in this game long enough to know that it is difficult to tell the bite of a 10-pounder from a 50-pounder. So he watched carefully.
When the fish peeled about 20 yards of line from his Garcia 7000, Wilson removed the rod from its holder.
“I let him run another 30 or 40 yards before I came back on him. Naturally it was the rod that was in the center. The first thing the fish did was go up the river tangling the two rods on that side of the boat. The next thing he did was go back down the river on the other side, tangling the two other rods.”
Ayers played such a key role in helping Wilson sort out the mess that Wilson wanted both their names credited for the catch, but when it comes to records only one can apply.
“There is no way I could have done it by myself. This was a 50-50 effort,” said Wilson. “When I saw the fish I told Danny, ‘Oh my God! This is a mule.”
“Ah, that thing isn’t that big,” said Ayers. “He is a nice fish. Just take some pictures and throw him back in and catch one bigger.”
“You don’t understand what you are looking at,” said Wilson. “I have seen 50-ponders that this thing could eat.”
“Well, what are you thinking?” Ayers asked Wilson.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the fish were 80 or 90 pounds,” said Wilson.
“You are crazy,” said Ayers. “It isn’t as big as you think.”
In an effort to prove his point, Wilson produced a set of portable deer scales. The fish was hooked to the scales and when Ayers attempted to lift it off the deck “the fish just laid there,” said Wilson.
“What do you think now?” asked Wilson.
“Well, it could be a little bigger than I thought it was,” said Ayers.
The two anglers rushed back to their launch site, a public ramp called Dutch Gap on the south side of Richmond, where they wrapped the fish in wet towels and headed to the nearby Castaway tackle shop.
“The guy had a big set of scales that he does citations on and we put the fish on them,” said Wilson. “The scales go to 100 and they just bottomed out.”
The tackle shop called DGIF officials and while Wilson and Ayers waited for their arrival they rushed the fish back to the James where they placed it in the landing net and lowered it back into the water.
“For no cause were we going to let that fish die,” said Wilson.
Greenlee arrived with a set of digital scales and an oxygenated tank to hold the fish. But he couldn’t find certification papers on the scales which would be required if the fish achieved record status. So he called Greentop, a fishing/hunting store on the west side of Richmond. Yes, their scales were available.
When the big catfish reached Greentop, the scales had been erected in the parking lot and a crowd had gathered. Once the weight was recorded, Greenlee headed back to the James with the fish and released it not far from where it was caught.
Greenlee called Wilson the next day and told him he could rest assured that the fish was in great shape when it was released. Within a week or so it likely would return to the spot where it was hooked, the biologist said.
Maybe some day it will bump the 124-pound world record blue cat landed May 21, 2005, in the Illinois section of the Mississippi River.
“He ain’t that big,” said Danny Ayers, Wilson’s outdoor companion and cousin.
As it turned out, Ayers was wrong. The 52 3/4-inch fish landed May 20 was certified at 102 pounds, 4 ounces. It is a pending Virginia record. No freshwater catch of any species ever has broken the 100-pound barrier.
You could see it coming. The tidal section of the James River in the Richmond area has been producing monster blue catfish that have been getting bigger each year. The area has established itself as one of the top catfish hot spots in the nation.
The current blue cat record is a 95-pound, 11-ounce giant landed June 15, 2006 by Archie Gold, a tournament catfish angler from Jetersville.
Everything looks good for Wilson’s fish to be certified as a Virginia record in a couple of weeks, according to Department of Game and Inland Fisheries officials. It was examined by DGIF fisheries biologist Bob Greenlee and was weighed on certified scales.
Wilson, who lives in Natural Bridge, has fished for cats in the James for more than 20 years, but it wasn’t until a couple years ago that this endeavor took a turn toward becoming a big-fish passion. Even his email address contains the words “big fish.”
Last year, he fished the river one or two times a week, spring through November.
“We caught a lot of citation-size fish,” he said. “The biggest thing we ever caught was in the 50-pound range.”
But etched in his mind has been the big one that got away last year when it became tangled in his anchor rope. Wilson estimated it would weigh 70 or 80 pounds.
That fish suddenly flashed into his mind last week when an outing on the river began slowly. After trying an initial hole, he and Ayers headed to the spot where the big fish had made its escape.
Wilson anchored in shallow water, baited five hefty rods with what he calls the tenderloin cut of a shad and tossed the offerings into a deep-water hole. Fifteen minutes passed and one of the rod tips started twitching. It appeared to be a small fish, but Wilson has been in this game long enough to know that it is difficult to tell the bite of a 10-pounder from a 50-pounder. So he watched carefully.
When the fish peeled about 20 yards of line from his Garcia 7000, Wilson removed the rod from its holder.
“I let him run another 30 or 40 yards before I came back on him. Naturally it was the rod that was in the center. The first thing the fish did was go up the river tangling the two rods on that side of the boat. The next thing he did was go back down the river on the other side, tangling the two other rods.”
Photo courtesy of Larry Scarborough Jr.
Tim Wilson (left) and Danny Ayers stand with their potential state record blue catfish.
Ayers played such a key role in helping Wilson sort out the mess that Wilson wanted both their names credited for the catch, but when it comes to records only one can apply.
“There is no way I could have done it by myself. This was a 50-50 effort,” said Wilson. “When I saw the fish I told Danny, ‘Oh my God! This is a mule.”
“Ah, that thing isn’t that big,” said Ayers. “He is a nice fish. Just take some pictures and throw him back in and catch one bigger.”
“You don’t understand what you are looking at,” said Wilson. “I have seen 50-ponders that this thing could eat.”
“Well, what are you thinking?” Ayers asked Wilson.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the fish were 80 or 90 pounds,” said Wilson.
“You are crazy,” said Ayers. “It isn’t as big as you think.”
In an effort to prove his point, Wilson produced a set of portable deer scales. The fish was hooked to the scales and when Ayers attempted to lift it off the deck “the fish just laid there,” said Wilson.
“What do you think now?” asked Wilson.
“Well, it could be a little bigger than I thought it was,” said Ayers.
The two anglers rushed back to their launch site, a public ramp called Dutch Gap on the south side of Richmond, where they wrapped the fish in wet towels and headed to the nearby Castaway tackle shop.
“The guy had a big set of scales that he does citations on and we put the fish on them,” said Wilson. “The scales go to 100 and they just bottomed out.”
The tackle shop called DGIF officials and while Wilson and Ayers waited for their arrival they rushed the fish back to the James where they placed it in the landing net and lowered it back into the water.
“For no cause were we going to let that fish die,” said Wilson.
Greenlee arrived with a set of digital scales and an oxygenated tank to hold the fish. But he couldn’t find certification papers on the scales which would be required if the fish achieved record status. So he called Greentop, a fishing/hunting store on the west side of Richmond. Yes, their scales were available.
When the big catfish reached Greentop, the scales had been erected in the parking lot and a crowd had gathered. Once the weight was recorded, Greenlee headed back to the James with the fish and released it not far from where it was caught.
Greenlee called Wilson the next day and told him he could rest assured that the fish was in great shape when it was released. Within a week or so it likely would return to the spot where it was hooked, the biologist said.
Maybe some day it will bump the 124-pound world record blue cat landed May 21, 2005, in the Illinois section of the Mississippi River.
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