Fishing guide Mike Mitchell had father-and-son Kentucky-based clients Forrest and Bob Winters on 69,000-acre Lake Guntersville on the morning of Jan. 17. They were slow-trolling six rods from planer boards not far from the Goose Pond mid-lake area.
“We were just easing along in my 21-foot aluminum boat, slow draggin’ big cut gizzard shad baits along bottom in 50 feet of water,” Mitchell told Wired2fish. “It was a little foggy that calm 40-degree morning, and we got a later-than-usual start at 7:30 a.m.”
The Catches Begin
First, they caught and released a 20-pound flathead catfish.
But things heated up quickly that morning when Bob Winters hooked, fought, and landed a huge, pot-bellied blue catfish. Mitchell says that in the frigid 45-degree water, the cat fought deep and sluggish against heavy boat tackle and a Shimano lever-drag reel. Bob battled the brute for just a few minutes before Mitchell netted it…