By VDGIF
Dale Russell Lowe, Jr. has caught big catfish before, just not this big. He was fishing the Ice Bowl Tournament on Buggs Island Lake.
“My cousin Stephen Faircloth fishes that tournament with me every year,” said Lowe. “I had two of the most important people in the world with me on the boat. It was a bonus to have Stephen and my son Chase with me.”
Lowe had good reason to expect a good tournament. “We got 3rd last year. There were 108 boats and we placed third with a 53.4-pound fish.”
Lowe’s personal best was over 100 pounds. “I caught a 100-pound blue cat in December 2015 in the James River,” declared Lowe. “He bottomed out my 100-pound spring scales and I didn’t have anything to keep him alive to get it certified. So, I put him back and called it 100. My best catfish out of Buggs had been a 75-pound blue and a 45-pound flathead.”
With the good vibes going, Team Lowe started out fishing a flat near the river channel on a cold and windy day. “I was rigged with Big Cat Fever Rods, 40-pound test Slime Line, Mad Catter HD Hooks on about 18 inches of 60-pound mono leader and a 3-ounce no roll sinker,” Lowe said. “I set all the rods in Fish Bite Rod Holders.”
“We were getting ready to leave that spot to get out of the wind,” recalled Lowe. “But for some reason we decided to give it ten more minutes. I turned around and saw the rod going down.”
“We were anchor-fishing with bait on the bottom,” continued Lowe. “We were using small 2×2 pieces of cut shad and carp. I’m not sure which bait the fish hit. I knew it was a really big fish when reeling it in, but didn’t realize it was that big until we got it in the net. We couldn’t get it in the boat at first!”
The fish put up an awesome fight for about 10 minutes. ”My cousin Stephen got the big cat’s head in the net the first time he surfaced. I had to grab the net and push his tail in to complete the job. Stephen looked at me and said, ‘Well, we just won the tournament’.”
“My boy was jumping up and down and saying ‘yes, we are going to win the tournament!’ He was smiling from ear to ear with excitement. He’s seen a 100 pounder before and he knew this one was way bigger.”
After that, the main goal was to keep the fish alive. “I’m strictly CPR,” acknowledged Lowe. “After a struggle, we got the fish in the boat. We could not pick it up to put it in my 100-gallon live well. I tried to call for help and no one was answering. After quite a struggle and some bear hugs we managed to get him in the tank.”
“I finally got hold of a good friend, Austin Sartin, of North Carolina Marine Fabrication. Austin has a huge tank. After convincing him that I was not telling a joke, he met me half way with the tank.”
“When Dale told me he had the state record in his boat my first thought was that he’s so excited he doesn’t realize state record equals the world record,” said Sartin. “Since he already had a 100 pound fish under his belt, I trimmed my boat and hauled butt straight to him. At first glance, it was bigger than I could have imagined.”
“We got the fish in my tank,” continued Sartin. “I built my tank based on the current world record length and girth. Once in the tank, the fish was safe as it gets.”
“Everyone gathered around to see the fish,” explained Lowe. “But, I wouldn’t take it out until weigh-in, to reduce the stress on the fish.”
When all was said and done the big cat weighed 141.76 pounds, just 2 pounds short of a state and world record. It measured 61×46 inches and swam away strong on release.
Potomac River
Capt. Steve Chaconas
Fish drops and move shallow as water is close to 50 degrees.
Silver Buddy blade baits are the way to find fish. If they are really slamming and eating the bait, they’ll chase other baits. Use 10-pound test Gamma Edge and work to and down drops. Target deep water, close to shallow, in out of the current bays like the Spoils, National Harbor, Belle Haven, Mount Vernon, Pohick near the military docks, and other locations.
Grass is a beginning to green up. Find grass with electronics and lures like Lucky Craft LV500 lipless crankbaits. Cast and slowly work around drop offs. To go deeper, try Lucky Craft Slim Shads on 8-pound test with a soft cranking rod. Slowly crank and briefly pause. If this doesn’t work, try Bevy Shads. They suspend and draw strikes others miss.
Give gold willow Colorado bladed 3/8 ounce or heaver spinnerbaits a try. White skirts are best on cloudy days, white and chartreuse for sunny days. Slowly drag and barely move, staying in contact with the bottom.
Chickahominy Lake
Capt. Art Conway reported that Chickahominy Lake mid-day water temperatures are in the low 50’s.
Fishing with Capt. Conway, Charlie Fasano had 7 crappie and 1 pickerel. Brian and Noah Martin had 7 crappie, 1 white perch, 3 pickerel, and 1 bass. Tom Porter had 20 crappie, 1 yellow perch and 3 white perch.
Beaverdam Reservoir
Citations are still being caught in large numbers at the lake. The water temp is averaging 45 degrees and the pool is full. Nice size buck bass have been caught in 4 to 6 feet of water on swimbaits. The big females are deep, hitting jerkbaits. The crappie are hit and miss and difficult to find.
Kerr Reservoir
Bobcat’s Lake Country Store reports water temperatures in the mid 40s to low 50s and bass fishing has been good. Most fishermen are using shallow running crankbaits, Rat-l-traps, jerkbaits and jigs,. Fish have been holding on red clay banks and rocky points in 1 to 8 feet of water. Reports of good numbers of fish and 5 fish bags from 14 to 19 pounds have been coming in.
James at Lynchburg
Tom Reisdorf at Angler’s Lane says that smallmouth action in the James is slow due to low water temps. When they do bite, it’s usually on crayfish imitators. The water is clear, at a seasonable level and in the low 40’s.
Trout Report
Anglers Lane says that the rainbow and brown fishing in the Jackson is good on Stonefly Nymphs. The water is clear, at a fine level and 43 to 44 degrees.
The mountain brookie streams are at a “perfect” level, clear and 40 degrees. Black Stonefly Nymphs are proving effective.
Shenandoah River
The water is clear, full and 47 degrees. Smallmouth are beginning to stir.
Saltwater Report
Some nice tautogs are being caught on ocean wrecks off Virginia. Deep dropping at the Norfolk Canyon is producing nice catches of blueline and golden tilefish. Unfortunately there are a lot of dogfish to deal with.
Inshore, there have been a few reports of speckled trout and puppy drum being caught inside Lynnhaven Inlet. Mirr-O-Lures have been best for the specks, while cut bait works better for the pups.
Nags Head
Anglers on Jennette’s Pier caught Shad and Skates.
Dave Lon boated some nice trout in Pamlico Sound. On Wednesday, the winds were SE at 2 and the water 48 degrees.
Oregon Inlet
It’s not even spring yet, but three boats sailed Wednesday, including 1 make-up charter. Anglers caught Yellowfin tuna, Blackfin tuna, and Mahi-Mahi.
One private boat brought in a 69″ Bluefin tuna.
Hatteras Surf
On Tuesday, an angler fished the south side of the Point and caught a mess of Blow Toads for dinner. At Ramp 55, a 25 inch Puppy Drum was beached. The Bunker were so thick that anglers were snagging them while reeling in.
On Wednesday, there were Blow Toads and Bluefish caught south of the Point. Some Sea Mullet were biting behind the motels. Puppy Drum were decked on Frisco Pier on Tuesday night.
Hatteras Offshore
Hatteras Harbor reported great weather on Wednesday with temps pushing into the 70’s. “We had boats fishing Offshore, catching limits of Sea Bass.