87 - Top Tips: UK Wels Catfish: New Fly Fishing Record Set!
FLYFISHING FOR UK WELS CATFISH: NEW RECORD SET!
This month we bring you incredible news of the UKs first ever freshwater, fly caught fish of over 100lbs! Oli Cullingford reports on an amazing capture- and the continued growth of fly fishing for catfish in the UK.
Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? After several years of hard work and crazy flyfishing trips for catfish we have finally broken through and caught fish we could once only dream about. Regular trips with a band of friends have produced some amazing results for wels catfish- and perhaps it was only a matter of time before something incredible happened.
To say every day is a school day rings true in this case. Certainly, each day of fishing for cats has been a learning process and added another little jigsaw piece. A lot of lost sleep and hard graft has been involved, but on our last trip we finally got to put those pieces together and made the magic happen.
Targeting the mighty wels catfish on the fly and from a belly boat was the task for four very keen individuals sharing the same love of flyfishing for large freshwater predators.
Setting out to beat our own PB catfish on the fly was our main goal , but not the only dream we were all chasing. Could it be possible to find hook and land a real freshwater monster of over 100 lb on the fly, or was it just a dream?
Setting up base camp is always a bit of a task. We fish around the clock and with such effort involved, we like to be social and bivvy up together so we have a landing station and a main hub, so to speak, where everything is to hand, from large unhooking mats to tripods, weigh slings and scales, not forgetting 50/60 inch landing nets , cameras and head torches at the ready for any night time captures.
Working as a team is essential when handling these large fish, and fish welfare is paramount so it’s all hands on deck to get everything right as quick as possible so we can release our prize for someone else to enjoy.
This is also helpful for cooking opportunities as everyone can share the hot water for a welcome cup of tea or bacon sandwich
Tackle talk: What gear is needed for catfish on the fly?
There’s still some misunderstanding around catfish on the fly, but suffice to say it needs no-nonsense gear that can handle the largest freshwater fish in the UK. Even standard pike gear is too light! For this reason, we all fish with heavy 12# fly rods, typically saltwater gear or epic glass rods, simply because these rods are amazing for playing big fish on. They are super powerful, for absorbing the biggest lunges and the hardest runs with ease.
Twin these rods with a large arbour fly reels with big discs drag and you’ve got some serious pulling power. As for lines, our fly reels are loaded with Cortland Pike and Musky line in a 12#. These are super tough, with a 50 lb+ core strength. As for leaders, we use Cortland XTR Fluorocarbon leader in 50lb test. Tackled up with this kit, we are ready to do battle with genuine monsters from the deep!
A record-breaking session
Back to the fishing we all eagerly boarded our belly boats and set out searching the water for any hidden gems in the shape of catfish. Covering the water we often passed each other, stopping to discuss tactics.
Heading into the evening is always an exciting time, as the witching hour is so often when those welcome words “FISH ON!” are heard. All of a sudden, Andy shouts and his rods takes a bow, spinning him around and racing off in the opposite direction. After a short battle, we had his fish in the net, a nice catfish of 20 lbs. A few quick photos and it went back to terrorise the rudd and perch shoals.
Another hour or two passed like minutes. There’s something about being out on the water in the darkness that really helps you focus your mind- and in a split second, the words came out again: “FISH ON!”
Andy was in again, and I’ll never forget the next words he said: “This is a proper one!” . There was a note of urgency in his voice, so it was all hands on deck, lights on and on landing net at the ready. I donned my waders and in seconds was in up to my waist in the darkness waiting to see what had been pulling Andy all over the lake.
Moments later I caught a glimpse in my head torch of a massive head and snake like body of well over 6 ft long. This was this the moment we had all been waiting for, and as this formidable creature finally slid into the landing net, a cheer and a sigh of relief sounded.
We quickly got her in the sling and on the scales to confirm what we were all waiting for: a new PB for Andy also a new UK unofficial record of 107 lb fly caught wels catfish. After all our hard work, we’d done it! It was a truly amazing capture on the fly: Andy Eglon had broken the 100 lb barrier!
We fished on for a couple of days searching every feature and hiding place. Stuart caught a cracking black cat weighing in at 50 lbs , and I managed one of 47 lbs in the early hours.
In terms of approach, we mixed it up with different size flies and leader lengths, to take a few smaller catfish during the day. Andy Cattel took a massive cat on the last night and a new PB for him of 80 lb, which became the second biggest ever UK catfish caught on the fly .
We fished hard through the night but like a switch, the cats had turned off and nothing else happened. With the sun rising and the trip coming to an end it was time to start packing up and reflect on what had just happened in those few short days. Time spent sharing and making memories all with a fly rod in our hand , always dreaming to catch big and catch bigger.
Huge congratulations to our man Andrew Eglon for putting freshwater fly fishing into the 100lbs plus bracket. It just shows that anything is possible if you follow your dreams- and flyfishing is forever capable of challenging and surprising us!
Thanks also go to Turrall and Cortland UK for the support and dependable tackle to do battle with these monsters. Time to start planning for next year’s sessions!
Tight lines everyone
For a look at UK catfishing on the fly, check out our video: