Category: catfish

SC man sets bowfishing world record

Stuart Vandyke of Eutawville, SC set the new bowfishing South Carolina state and world record for catfish on Jan. 6, 2023 when he arrowed an Arkansas blue catfish that tipped the scales at 84 pounds, 12.8 ounces.

Vandyke’s catfish was 54 inches long, with a girth of 37 inches. And this fish tale has some twists and turns that make it a little more interesting than breaking a world record is to begin with.

First of all, 15 days earlier, Vandyke’s friend David Ard set the bowfishing world record for the same species with a fish that weighed a little more than 80 pounds.

Add to that, another of Vandyke’s friends that was in the boat with him on Jan. 6 took the first shot at the record fish, but missed. This gave Vandyke an opportunity, and he took full advantage of it.

Once his arrow pierced the fish, he knew it would be big enough to vie for the record. He and his friends wrestled it aboard, then called a friend with a certified scale. They weighed the fish and got it entered into the Bowfishing Association of America’s record book, ending Ard’s short-lived status as world record holder.

For other state and world bowfishing records, visit www.bowfishingassociation.com.

Santee Cooper catfish report – summer

Catfish in the daytime, catfish at night. They’re biting all hours at Santee right now.

The summertime catfish report on the Santee Cooper lakes shows many blue cats being caught. Capt. Kyle Austin’s anglers are catching plenty of them at night, which helps beat the heat. But the daytime bite hasn’t been bad.

This young lady had a big night of fishing with Capt. Kyle Austin at Santee recently.

Capt. Jason Wolfe of Wolfe’s Guide Service has a two-part strategy for summertime cats on Santee. First thing in the morning, he likes to anchor down in fairly shallow water. He baits up with cut baitfish, casts out a spread of six to eight rods, sets the rods in the rod holders, then waits.

Wolfe suggests anglers leave the rods in the rod holders until the rod is doubled over. Many anglers try to set the hook, which he said is a mistake. The circle hooks he uses will do their job once the fish commits. And the action of his Catch the Fever rods coupled with the reel’s drag will allow the catfish to swim away long enough for the hook to embed itself in the corner of the fish’s mouth.

As the fish continues to swim away, the rod finally doubles over. Sometime the drag begins to sing, letting you know that a true fighter is on the line

As the sun gets up and the day begins to warm, the catfish leave the shallows, so Wolfe does too. He heads for deep water, usually on the main section of the Lower Lake. Here, he replaces his weights with Drifting Stix, then casts all his rods again. And once again they go in rod holder.

Now, Wolfe suggests his anglers kick back and watch the rod tips. As they drift over humps and deep holes, the bait is being presented to catfish of all sizes. When one takes the bait, you’ll know it quickly.

R.I.P. Jason Henderson

Catfish community lost a great one this month

The catfishing community in the Carolinas lost a popular member on Sept. 12, 2021. Jason Kevin Henderson was known by many as a great catfish angler, but most importantly as a great person.

Along with his brother Clay, Jason was a part of Drifting Stix, a company that makes products for catfish anglers. And he won numerous fishing tournaments and championships. He was passionate about angling, and about helping other anglers succeed.

I only met him once, on a fishing trip at Santee last year. At about 6 a.m., his first words to me were a light hearted joke, and before we ever left the dock, I felt like I’d known him my whole life. He was a laid back guy that just put others immediately at ease, and made them feel like life-long friends.

Aside from fishing, Jason was a loving son, husband, dad, brother, cousin, uncle, nephew and a friend to many people.

If you never fished with him, you missed out. If you never met him at all, you missed out even more.

The Southeastern Catfish Club and the rest of the catfish community came together to launch a money-raising effort to help Jason’s family with funeral and other expenses. If you’d like to donate, visit https://app.easytithe.com/app/giving/afo

Rainy days can make great catfish days

The cold, dreary days of February can be great for catching catfish.

The rain in the Carolinas has been completely dreary lately. Rain, cold, wind…even some snow has fallen on waterways in both states in recent days. And while it’s easy to stay home and let the fishing wait for sunnier days, it’s not at all necessary.

Staying home right now is actually a horrible way to spend these bleak days. The catfish are biting like made all across the Carolinas. They either don’t mind the cold, or the cold makes them especially hungry. Either way, days like these can be some of the best fishing days of the year for anglers willing to brave the elements.

Capt. Jason Wolfe of Wolfe’s Guide Service recently had a stellar day at Santee. He and his clients caught big numbers of Arkansas blue catfish that ranged from 5 to 25 pounds. The bite was non-stop.

“We caught them steady throughout the day. The majority of them were from 15 to 25 pounds, with a few smaller ones that would make great nuggets. We were just fishing for fun, so we released them all. We didn’t get into any truly trophy-sized fish, but that is always a possibility this time of year,” said Wolfe.