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.
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.
Santee Lakes Catfish Club tournament winner accused of cheating by fellow angler
The Santee Lakes Catfish Club held its second tournament of the 2021 fall season on Saturday, Oct. 9 out of Blacks Camp in Cross, S.C. By all accounts, the fishing was tough, with many teams weighing in less than the three-fish limit at the end of the day.
To make things worse, the tournament was tainted by accusations of cheating, leveled at the winner by another club member who allegedly saw evidence of wrongdoing. Rob Unkle of All Slimed Up Guide Service took the win, weighing in a total of 76.38 pounds.
Dennis Glover and Mike Rivers with WTF weighed a total of 58.13 pounds, taking second place. Reigning club champs David Kingsmore and Bradley Tucker of Team SC CATS brought 51.47 pounds to the scale, good for third place. A weight of 51.25 pounds put Capt. Jason Wolfe of Wolfe’s Guide Service in fourth place.
But what was that about cheating? Well, to be fair, Rob Unkle passed a lie-detector test which was administered before naming the winners. But there was a matter that shined some doubt on his conduct.
Three catfish spotted in Unkle’s bait tank day before tournament
Aside from fishing, Unkle also sells bait to other anglers. The day before the tournament, one of the other anglers showed up to purchase some bait. And in the large bait tank, this angler saw three catfish, including a flathead he estimated at about 18 pounds. The angler alerted tournament director Ralph Willey of what he saw. Willey then made sure a certified polygraph examiner would be on site for the weigh in.
While the tournament was going on, a tournament official went to Unkle’s place. The three catfish which were observed in the bait tank the day before the tournament were no longer there. Unkle said he sold the fish. Then at the weigh in, Unkle weighed in three catfish, including a flathead that weighed about 18 pounds. He took a polygraph and passed, and was awarded first place.
On the Santee Lakes Catfish Club Facebook page, Willey stood by the tournament results.
Club president issues statement on the situation
“Friday evening I was contacted by a club member expressing concerns of potential cheating within our tournaments. These concerns were not taken lightly and I immediately started putting things in place to ensure a level playing field for all participants in yesterday’s tournament. We performed thorough live well checks and a polygrapher was retained. 1st and 2nd place winners were tested and both passed. Awards were made based on those results.
As SLCC club president, I am not judge and jury. I have to remain impartial and use the tools available to me to provide fair competition. Unfortunately, I can’t control the court of public opinion and I’m disappointed that this event has shed a negative light on our great club and its anglers. Cheating, if proven, will NOT be tolerated. Not only will the team be banned from our club, law enforcement will be brought in. In this case, solid proof is not available and I stand by the actions taken and the decisions made. I welcome anyone having concerns to reach out to me personally so I can address them,” said Willey.
The Santee Lakes Catfish Club gets back in action on Nov. 13. This tournament will be held out of Hill’s Landing and RV Park, with fishing taking place on the upper lake. Livewell checks and registration will be conducted 6 a.m. to 6:45 a.m. Scales will open at 3:30 p.m. Click here for more information about the Santee Lakes Catfish Club.
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.
