Trophy Fish Still Bite in the Rain!

Joshua, Madden, Mackenzie, and Tim joined us for a return trip on the James River. It was a rainy morning but the group was in good spirits and ready to catch some fish. We checked out a section of river that was new to the group and Captain Dan told them to expect a slow but quality bite.

We ran down river and marked some fish right away. We tossed out some fresh shad and white perch and began waiting for the rods to go down. We had a tap right away that didn't amount to anything then it was a waiting game for a good 30-45 minutes before the action picked up. We saw a rod start to swim away when the tide was slack and reeled down on it. The fish was deep so we took our time battling it to the surface. This fish was fired up and fought hard. The group was excited to see the fish hit the deck as we were starting our morning off with a trophy fish. This was the skinniest 41.5 inch blue catfish we have ever seen.

A fish of this length typically weighs 35-45 lbs but this skinny guy was under 20 lbs. We took our photos and sent him back to the river. Congrats on another entry in the trophy club!

We kept waiting and Mckenzie was really happy when a pink Hellcat rod folded over. She has been watching them all morning and she was quick to grab the rod and start battling the fish. This fish fought very hard and we brought it to the surface and scooped it up. Congrats on a new PB!

We waited a bit more and another rod went down. Madden grabbed the rod and we brought in another fish right around the same size but much healthier. Many of our fish were showing signs of post spawn with raw rub marks and skinny frames. It was good to see a plump catfish hit the deck.

We freshened up our bait and cast the rods back out. Unfortunately a commercial shock boat moved into the area and completely shut the bite down. Very frustrating when you're on a good bite and sitting on some giant sonar marks. We had to move on and find a new place to fish.

The tide was starting to move in and we tried a few spots with no luck beyond a few taps. The commerial shock boat had been moving through this entire stretch of river so Captain Dan decided to make a big move back up river.

We didn't have a ton of time left in the trip and the rain was coming down pretty heavy so we tossed out some fresh bait and sat on some sonar marks for the last 45 mintues of our trip. The bite was very quiet, aside from a few runs that never hooked up, and the clock was ticking down. With about 10 minutes left in the trip, Captain Dan spotted a barge headed down river. He told the group to keep an eye on the rods as barges can turn the bite on. The barge passed right by our boat and it didn't seem like any fish were getting fired up.

As we watched the barge move on by us, we had a rod get smashed. It was a pink hellcat and Mckenzie was all over it. She reeled down like a pro and hooked up on the fish. It immediately started to pull drag and give us huge head shakes. We knew it was.a big fish. Just as the fight was starting, Captain Dan saw a green Hellcat rod start to fold over and Madden ran over to it and reeled down on it. We were hooked up on two rods and both fish looked like good fish. Captain Dan told Madden to slow play the fish and let it tire itself out while we got Mckenzie's fish to the boat. We had to work quick to land Mckenzie's fish then clear the net to get Madden's fish in the boat.

The chaos turned into an awesome double up with Mckenzie's fish weighing in at 38 lbs and Madden's fish weighing in just under 25 lbs.

Congrats on another trophy fish!

Thanks for joining us on the water and for staying patient to let the fish come to us. Can't wait for the next trip!