We spent the evening hanging out, eating, fishing and watching the boys run all over God's green earth. We found out last year that the secret to keeping up with your kid at a camp out is to give them all chem lights. They love to hang on to them and you don't have to get out of your seat all night. Just keep and eye on the lights running around everywhere.
I slept like a baby that night in the tent. Up every hour, tossing and turning and even cried a little bit. Nothin like sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag. As soon as it was light enough outside to see I was awake. I took a look at my watch and it was about 5:20 am. No one else was at the pond so I decided to see if I could wake up Mr. Bass and get his morning started off right. There were a few guys stiring as I walked to the pond from the tent with my BPS carbonlite rod and Rick Clunn Signature reel spooled up with 12lb P-Line. There was a blue and chrome Red Eye Shad dangling from the hook holder. About three casts into the pond and "thunk!!!" something hit like a freight train. You know how guys say "that fish almost took the rod out of my hand." Well, this one really did. I almost lost my rod off the side of the dock.
I managed to catch it with one hand as it slipped out and I made a recovery. As I put the heat on and started to reel I knew I had something that was pretty stout. Then something I've never seen happened. A large catfish jumped out of the water shaking his head like a largemouth trying to rid himself of my red eye shad. I couldn't believe my eyes. Partly because I just watched a catfish jump and partly because this was the biggest cat I'd ever set the hook on. I quickly backed off on the drag and decided to see if I could land the brute. That meant realizing that I didn't have him, he had me. He swam where ever he wanted to go and I was just along for the ride. By this time I had attracted the attention of a few other sleepy eyed fellas who heard the splash and climbed out of their tents to see what was going on. At this point everyone's an expert you know. 
I wore the fish down and was able to coax him to the side of the dock. As I eased his head out of the water with my rod I made a mistake. Bet you can guess. That's right. As I kneeled down to catch him under the gils, I grabbed the line. I know I heard him say "check mate" as he ever so slightly twitched his head to the side one last time easily breaking my line like it was a piece of 12 year old dry rotted mono. With that he eased his head back down towards the bottom gliding away like nothing ever happened. I looked up to see the guys on the dock with their mouths open and heads shaking as if to say, "Good job man, but you should have closed the deal."
Now, I know that the biggest fish are the ones you almost caught, but I want to be honest about it. No pictures, no fish, no scale to weigh him on, just my guess and Danny's knowledge of the fish in the pond. He had to have been pushing 20 lbs. I know it's no world record, but it was big enough to make me want to go back and give "Catzilla" another shot. I won't go back with out a net or a crane though.
Danny told me he was feeding the fish the evening after everyone left and he waited around to see what would come up after the weekend of fishing. He said Catzilla came up and stuck his tounge out at him. That had to have been for me.
