I was task with talking about my personal record catches, which was easy.
I have two catches that are considered records. They are Texas Water Body Records. The first is an 8.75 lb Channel Catfish that I caught on Victor Braunig Lake. Now some will think, “Heck, I catch ___(insert number of pounds) channel cats all day long”, but it is relative to the body of water you catch them on. A 5 lbs. channel cat from Braunig is a very good catch. It was in January of 2010 that I told my buddy that I wanted to beat the Braunig lake record this year (2010). Little did I know that on our next fishing trip to Braunig Lake, I would achieve this goal. It was February 20, 2010 and we were there as usual, before the ramp even opened. The wind was perfect for us to fish one of our favorite spots, a reed bed in 2-4 foot of water. Some days on Braunig, you will fish 4 or 5 locations and only pickup 1 or 2 fish all day. Well this day was not like that, they were biting good and were of good size. We were bringing in one big cat after another, 6 pounds, 6.5 pounds, 7 pounds, it was just one of those days and I knew one of us was going to catch the one, and then it happened. My cork went under, I set the hook and the fight was on. I knew it was a good fish, but I wasn’t sure it would be a record until we had it in the net.
The next record is the current Texas Water Body Record Flathead Catfish for Choke Canyon Reservoir. It weighed 28.96 pounds. The cool thing about this one is it was caught during a South Texas Catfish Association tournament. Not only did I catch this one, which is my biggest Flathead to date, but about 10 minutes later, on the same rod, cast to the same area I hooked into a 28-pound Blue Catfish. Needless to say, we won the tournament and my Flathead won big fish for us.
On May 5, 2012 the South Texas Catfish Association held its Classic tournament. Throughout the tournament season members had to qualify to fish in the Classic. Teams could qualify in one of three ways; 1) Win any points tournament during the season, 2) Finish in the top three overall at the end of the season, or 3) fish at least 6 of the 7 point series tournaments of the season. Of the 19 teams
On April 21, 2012 the South Texas Catfish Association with the help of some great sponsors and donations, held it's second annual Wounded Warriors on the Water Day. This is our way, and those that supported the event, to say thank you to these service members and their families. The event was held at Calaveras Lake, just south of San Antonio (Military City) Texas. The weather started chilly, in
South Texas Catfish Association Tournament Where: Victor Braunig Lake, Texas When: Saturday, March 24, 2012 It was a great weather to be on the lake, though may be not for fishing. It started out foggy and with temps in the high 50s. It stayed over cast with no wind for most of the morning. By mid day the sun broke through and the temps jumped up in the 70s, a blue bird day for sure with
South Texas Catfish Association Host a free Youth Catfish Tournament March 17, 2012, the STCA hosted it’s inaugural Youth Catfish Tournament. The tournament was open to any child age 2-16, it was free, to include a free cookout after the tournament. There were two divisions, Bank anglers and Boat anglers, with three age groups in each division, 2-6, 7-10, and 11-16. Sixty-one
Our next challenge is to discuss ice fishing. Ok, here in South Texas the closest we come to ice fishing is if you have some ice in your drink while fishing. Alright, to be honest, I have had ice on the floor of the boat while fishing because it does dip below freezing now and then, but our water ways do not freeze up in the winter. Many Texans put away the fishing gear in the late fall and get
Retired from the Army, John still works for the Army as an instructor at the Army Medical Department, Center & School in San Antonio, TX. John has been fishing his whole life and has recently focused his fishing efforts on Catfish. John is a founding member, President, and the former Tournament Director for the South Texas Catfish Association (club).
