Spillway Smackdown Pt. Deux

<p>Just over a month ago, I uploaded a report of me and my friends catching a lot of buffalo at my local spillway. While we're still catching them in pretty solid numbers, a new challenger has begun to strike our curlytails: Flathead Catfish. The cats are just finishing up their spawn and have started attacking lures with gusto.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444657/medium/1567953690/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /><br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444645/medium/1567953689/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /><img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444769/medium/1567953697/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /><br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444767/medium/1567953696/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>While we hadn't landed any big ones yet, we'd hooked plenty....<br /> <br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724461784/medium/1567954498/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /><br /> <br /> <br /> ...and lost plenty of them, too.</p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724461796/medium/1567954498/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /><br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444652/medium/1567954626/enhance" style="height:400px; width:500px" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Eventually, we finally started landing big flatheads. It turns out, the jigheads we were buying from the local bait shop dulled incredibly easy, so we had to get them elsewhere. Once we made the switch, very few flatheads were lost.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444698/medium/1567953693/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /><br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444721/medium/1567953694/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /></p> <p><br /> Brett (Peeling Line) got a nice one, too. Check out his video here:&nbsp;<br /> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2TwMhI_kSk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2TwMhI_kSk</a><br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444778/medium/1567953697/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><br /> We kept catching more buffalo, too!</p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444850/medium/1567953702/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /><br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444831/medium/1567953700/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /><br /> Kid in the background looked a little freaked out by the fish.<br /> <br /> Josh, Zach, and I even got a triple on buffalo!<br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444856/medium/1567953702/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /></p> <p><br /> <br /> I was able to shoulder my way into a spot on Labor Day because I wanted to catch a fish after being away at college for two weeks. I missed the river, and it apparently missed me, too. After drifting curlytails to no avail for about an hour, I felt a dull *thud* during a drift, and my bait stopped going downstream. I set. And it was big.</p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444828/medium/1567953700/enhance" style="height:667px; width:500px" /><br /> <img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444813/medium/1567953699/enhance" style="height:375px; width:500px" /><img alt="" src="https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/services/mediarender/THISLIFE/010028735044/media/54724444798/medium/1567953698/enhance" style="height:543px; width:500px" /><br /> <br /> 50 pounds, my personal best. A fish of size that I may never see again. Super happy that I got to release this beast. Had a crowd of 30+ people watching the fight and landing. I don't know if they'll read this, but a massive thank you to the two guys who landed the fish for me. One grabbed the mouth, the other grabbed the tail, and they heaved it out of the water.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>So ends my current tale of the flathead beatdown at my local spillway. We caught everything on either a 3" white curlytail or a 4" white curlytail, using 1/8-1/2oz jigs. Fun stuff!</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p>