Michigan Bank Angler Lands and Releases 48.1-Pound Flathead Catfish

A Michigan bank fisherman just proved again that you do not need a glitter boat to tangle with a serious fish.

Andrew Karsten was fishing the St. Joseph River below the Berrien Springs Dam on May 22 when the dam gates opened and the current fired up. He was targeting flathead catfish from shore with friends, fishing big live bait in the tailrace where food gets washed through and predators know to line up.

Karsten cast a live rock bass into the heavy water, and a big flathead took it before the bait ever hit bottom. He was using heavy tackle: a 7.5-foot heavy-action spinning rod, a Quantum 80-series reel, 50-pound monofilament, a 30-pound leader, and a 10/0 circle hook. That is not finesse fishing. That is come-here fishing.

The fight lasted about five minutes. Karsten worked the fish to shore, grabbed it from the rocks, and with help from friends measured and weighed it. The flathead went 46 inches and 48.1 pounds. Then it was released back into the St. Joe River.

He plans to enter it for a Michigan Master Angler catch-and-release award. The qualifying length for flathead catfish is 35 inches, so this one cleared the mark by a mile.

There is a good lesson here beyond the size of the fish. Karsten knew the water, knew what the dam current did, used tackle built for the job, and had friends there to help handle the fish. That is how big fish get landed clean instead of broken off, dragged around, or wasted for a picture.

Big catfish are apex freshwater predators, and a 48-pound flathead from shore is a memory most anglers would love to have. Catch it legal, handle it right, take the photo, and let a fish like that keep ruling the river. That is a good day.