An Iowa angler who was ice fishing with minnows recently on Lake Manawa was surprised by the “constant power” exhibited by the massive catfish at the end of his line.
“The fight was unlike anything I’ve ever caught through the ice,” the Council Bluffs resident told Field & Stream. “It was constant power. It was a whole new battle to get that big of a fish to turn its head on a rod and reel that wasn’t meant for something of its size.”
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The flathead catfish, caught during a spectacular sunset on Jan. 31, tipped a scale at 34 pounds before Campbell placed the fish back into the hole and watched it swim free.
He told Outdoor Life: “I only caught one fish that night but it took us the whole night to get it in.”
The catch caught the attention of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which on Wednesday shared the news via Facebook.
“Surprise! That’s no panfish. That’s a 40-inch, 34-pound Iowa Master Angler flathead catfish!” the agency exclaimed. “Gavin Campbell was recently ice fishing Lake Manawa when he pulled this monster from the ice.”
Many of the comments pertained to the beautiful sunset on display in the image captured by Campbell’s friend, Ryan Higginbotham.
Iowa’s Master Angler Program recognizes exceptional catches in state waters.
Campbell told Field & Stream that it was his largest-ever ice-fishing catch.
For the sake of comparison, however, the Iowa state record for flathead catfish stands at 81 pounds. The behemoth was caught at Ellis Lake in 1958.
The all-tackle world record is the 1998 catch of a 123-pound flathead catfish at Elk City Reservoir in Kansas.
