A few weeks ago, fishing buddies Brandon Pitts and Kenny Scott hooked up to a regular blue cat giant on Lake Sinclair in Georgia.
As it turned out, this catch absolutely obliterated the previous lake record for blue catfish!
Keep reading this article and find out how Brandon caught his monster cat and how much the behemoth weighed in at.
An Unforgettable Fishing Trip
Initially, the duo had set out to catch a few of Lake Sinclair’s striped bass. Catfish hadn’t really been on their radar that day.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, the gizzard shad they were using for bait were way too big for stripers, so they decided to fish for cats instead.
Luckily, they had their baitcasters with them, and with 50lb braid on those babies, targeting catfish wouldn’t be much of a problem.
Or so Brandon, who’d end up catching the giant, thought!
After plenty of rain in the morning, the weather switched to overcast and somewhat windy, which must have got the fish going!
The two friends had caught a smaller blue and a 33lbs flathead catfish, so the trip was already successful.
Then, they spotted what appeared to be a really big catfish on the fish finder.
Brandon told me that:
“The fish was about 40 feet deep in a hole we marked, and we sat on it for about 28 minutes. But it just wouldn’t bite. We decided to stick it out a few more minutes before giving up, and then the fish finally bit!”
The Fight of a Lifetime
What followed was a truly unforgettable fight! A blue cat of such proportions is a mighty powerful creature, and pumping it up from a depth of 40 feet makes things even harder.
Brandon explained it like this:
“The fight lasted about 10 to 12 minutes, and that fish fought extremely hard. That’s the hardest-fighting freshwater fish I’ve ever fought! It took a big landing net and the two of us trying to pull it over the side of the boat.
When we finally landed it, I just couldn’t believe how big it was!”
A New Lake Sinclair Blue Catfish Record
Now that they’d managed to get the behemoth into their boat, Brandon and Kenny went about weighing the fish, which was easier said than done.
Keeping the fish in the net proved somewhat difficult. Lifting it with the scales to get an accurate weight was even more challenging. But the friends finally managed.
With the net, the scales showed an unbelievable 76 pounds!
It was getting dark, and the two anglers couldn’t find a good place to weigh the fish properly.
So, they put the blue cat in Kenny’s 80-gallon livewell overnight and returned the following morning to get a certified weight.
Now, the monster blue cat weighed in at an astonishing 73lb 12.16oz, and a new lake record was now a reality!
“I was blown away. I just couldn’t believe we’d set the record on that lake. I mean, it’s just crazy!”
The previous lake record was caught just last summer and weighed 60lb 7.8oz.
That means Brandon’s enormous blue catfish outweighed the old record by a little over 13 pounds. That’s unbelievable!
Just a few days earlier, Kenny’s buddy Brad had caught a really huge blue cat of 59.8oz. You can check out that story here.
This shows the potential Lake Sinclair has when it comes to producing trophy blue catfish. Who knows what else swims around in that lake?
Onto New Adventures
After the weigh-in, the fish was safely released, and Brandon and Kenny probably felt like the kings of the (catfish) world!
Brandon and his wife Kimberly also told me that Brandon is going to receive an award for his record catch that Georgia Outdoor News will provide.
Furthermore, Brandon wants to thank his good buddy Kenny, who used to have a charter service out on Sinclair, for bringing him out that day.
“I could have never caught that fish without him. Kenny knows the lake extremely well, and all the credit goes to him. He is a very skilled angler.”
Lastly, I asked Brandon if he’ll be returning to Lake Sinclair for some more big fish action anytime soon:
“Yes, I will!”
Nuff said!
I want to thank Brandon and Kimberly Pitts for the nice interview and, once again, congratulate Brandon and Kenny on this fantastic accomplishment.
Tight lines, guys!
Leave a comment