The Middle Georgia Catfish Anglers tournament trail ended its 2022 season this past weekend and the biggest catch seemed to be a surprise to the angler, even though he’s caught his share of monster catfish over the years.
Jeff Fuss and Kenny Scott took First Place/ Big Fish/Pig Pot in the Nov.12-13 tourney with 81 pounds total weight of fish, and Jeff reeled in the 52.35-pound Big Fish.
“When I first pulled him in the boat, his girth was so round he looked like a pot-bellied pig,” Fuss said with a laugh. “Seriously though, can you imagine how long that fish has been in that lake? A lot of years, I imagine.”
Fuss and Scott have been fishing together for many years, Fuss said, explaining that they use Scott’s boat.
“So Kenny is the captain and I’m the first mate,” he quipped.
As they launched from Twin Bridges on Lake Sinclair, there were 12 boats competing in the tournament. Fuss described the weather that morning as cool and foggy, very dense in a few areas on the lake, but there was enough visibility for them to travel safely to their fishing areas.
“This morning was not any different than any others, as Kenny and I have competed in all kinds of weather,” Fuss said.
Fuss described catching the big blue catfish: “We had been fishing for about 30 minutes when the big fish decided to pull one of the rods on my side of the boat down to where the rod tip disappeared into the water. I struggled to remove the rod from its holder and eventually succeeded when I realized this was a big fish.
“The rod was bowed over the entire time as both the fish and I attempted to take advantage of each other. After what seemed an eternity, I finally managed to win the battle and bring the fish to the surface where Kenny promptly netted him and hoisted him into the boat.”
The two anglers immediately put the big blue into a 55-gallon aerated galvanized steel tank they keep on the back of Scott’s boat. They continued to fish and they both “had several big pull-down bites during the remainder of the tournament hours, but only boated two other fish during the day – a flathead and another, smaller blue,” Fuss said.
They arrived at weigh-in at the designated time and Fuss’s big blue weighed in at just 2.05 pounds off the current lake record. As they held their winning catches up for a photo, the old blue continued to fight with and bite Fuss, trying to escape.
“He bit me several times, but I’ve gotten wise to their antics so I wear leather gloves,” Fuss said. “Some people like noodling (sticking their hands in a hole to catch catfish), but I love catching ‘em with a rod and reel. It’s a lot of fun and I don’t have to go to the gym because they give me a workout.”
Tournament Director Jim Harwood explained that tournament anglers have bagged larger fish several times and without a doubt have broken the lake record, but MGCA doesn’t certify their weights because there are no certified scales in close enough proximity to Lake Sinclair to take the fish in a reasonable amount of time.
“The closest place to Lake Sinclair to get them certified is Social Circle and it has limited hours and we fish on weekends and nights; so, we’d have to wait until Monday to get it certified and the fish wouldn’t live that long,” Harwood explained. “And we’re all about keeping the fish alive and releasing it back into the lake to live and reproduce and give us a lot more catfish. It’d be awesome if we could get one of the marinas here to get some certified scales,” he added.
Fuss and Scott took home $1,840 winnings on that tournament, Harwood said. In each tournament, anglers have the option to pay an extra $5 that goes in the Pig Pot for a catch of a catfish weighing 45 pounds or better. If no fish of that weight is caught in the tournament, the cash tally rolls over to the next tournament until someone who entered catches that size fish to win the accumulated prize. The Pig Pot prize that Fuss earned at the final tournament garnered him $700, which he said he split with Scott. Fuss noted that a 45-pound fish was caught in the previous tournament, but the angler had failed to join the Pig Pot and missed out on collecting the prize.
The second-place winner of the Nov. 12-13 tournament was Andy Cagle, with 54.75 pounds total weight and a $400 prize. And third place went to Guy Covington with 49.25 total pounds caught. Harwood said rods and other gifts were awarded to other winners.
Middle Georgia Catfish Anglers is a group of anglers dedicated to catfishing, practicing catch-and-release, and using techniques that ensure the health and well-being of the fish in the lake as well as those caught in the tournament. The trail includes lakes Sinclair, Oconee and Jackson.
The tournament trail will start back in February, and anyone is invited to join. Follow Middle Georgia Catfish Anglers on Facebook for updates, or call Jim Harwood at 706-8165084, or Tournament Co-Director Clay Bishop at 706-819-8493.