#834632 - 07/23/08 02:02 PM
Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
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rsimms
10 Point
Registered: 09/08/02
Posts: 2521
Loc: Chattanooga, TN
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Cliff Brittingham fished with me earlier this year and had such a good time he wanted to come back for Round 2. This time he brought Gene and Chris with him for the morning trip. He said, "We just want to catch fish," so we first went to my old reliable spot on Chickamauga Lake. Well, old reliable failed me.  After 2 hours we'd caught one 16-pounder and four little eaters. I told 'em, "We're bailing out. If we can't catch numbers, lets go look for quality." They were all for it. It was a good move... a VERY good move. My first downriver spot was empty. Next two spots paid off. In about two hours of fishing we caught five between 5 and 16 pounds... then Chris punched a good fish. It went a solid 27 pounds. I told them I had time for one more drift before I had to head for Job #2, and we were just about to the end of the drift when "The Big One hit." I knew it was a good fish, but had no real idea how good until about five minutes into the battle and Cliff hadn't moved him very far of the bottom. I knew this was serious. It was the hardest, longest fight (on big tackle) I've ever witnessed. Cliff was begging for relief after a while. We told him he was on his own and I told Gene and Chris, "This is an honest-to-goodness Tennessee River catfish here!" When Cliff got him in sight, we all sort of freaked out. But about the time Cliff got him in sight, he decided he didn't like daylight and left again. The battled raged on for lots more minutes. He finally wore him down into grabber range. His lips were almost too big for grabbers but I got them on there, handed them to Chris while I grabbed on with two bare hands and we hauled him aboard. High-fives and exclamations all around... it's the biggest fish I've had a client land (to date). Like a dummy, I didn't have my big scales... and my 50-pound scales bottomed out. But he was 48 inches long with a 32-inch girth, which by the official formula, puts him at 61.44 lbs. Between the very long battle, and picture-takin'.... needless to say I was late to work. I showed the boss the picture and he forgave me.  Life really is good and gettin' better every day.
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#834694 - 07/23/08 02:43 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: mr.big]
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Winchester
Non-Typical
Registered: 12/05/03
Posts: 25338
Loc: TN
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Pretty kitty!
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#834700 - 07/23/08 02:46 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: Winchester]
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Seminole39
12 Point
Registered: 03/31/08
Posts: 6710
Loc: B-Y-B to the double E
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thats awesome
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#834771 - 07/23/08 03:38 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: Southpaw]
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tennoutdrsman
TnDeer Old Timer
6 Point
Registered: 08/03/99
Posts: 860
Loc: Hendersonville,Tn
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'get tha net!.........Nah never mind...We need a bigger boat!"
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#834776 - 07/23/08 03:41 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: tennoutdrsman]
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JohnnyBond
Cat Man
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Registered: 01/16/08
Posts: 35567
Loc:
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#834808 - 07/23/08 04:00 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: JohnnyBond]
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TNhuntin93
6 Point
Registered: 11/22/07
Posts: 968
Loc: TN
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Nice cat!
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#834831 - 07/23/08 06:24 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: TNhuntin93]
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Kirk
14 Point
Registered: 08/07/01
Posts: 8773
Loc: Cleveland, TN USA
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Nice fish.
"Tastes Great.... sorry. I couldn't resist."
(You never know who your talking to Simms) 
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#834886 - 07/23/08 06:57 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: Kirk]
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Umpire
12 Point
Registered: 09/11/01
Posts: 6069
Loc: Smyrna, TN
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#834983 - 07/23/08 07:38 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: Buck Nekkid]
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8up
Good ol' Boys
10 Point
Registered: 10/14/05
Posts: 2628
Loc: Stewart co.
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Great fish but I would have to rest my arms for a week after fighting one like that.
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#835702 - 07/24/08 08:10 AM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: RUGER]
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Hillbilly Hunter
Killbilly
16 Point
Registered: 07/15/05
Posts: 16989
Loc: Branchville
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awesome trip!!!!
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#836394 - 07/24/08 03:35 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: renegade50]
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Blue5
Woodpile Boys
16 Point
Registered: 09/21/04
Posts: 16821
Loc: Chapel Hill, TN
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cool
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#836749 - 07/24/08 08:15 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: Umpire]
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hunter drew
14 Point
Registered: 06/16/07
Posts: 7794
Loc: henderson county TN Lexington
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Awesome
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#836785 - 07/24/08 08:37 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: hunter drew]
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JA1234
10 Point
Registered: 01/13/06
Posts: 3841
Loc: just a hair or two north of th...
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way to go..great catch
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#838744 - 07/26/08 08:21 AM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: JA1234]
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Crosshairy
8 Point
Registered: 08/22/06
Posts: 2159
Loc: Bartlett, TN
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My 68-lb blue caught out of the MS River was 50.5 inches long, so your formula sounds about right to me.
Congratulations! I know that was exciting!
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I'm hungry and tired. Don't poke my belly.
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#838984 - 07/26/08 01:10 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: Crosshairy]
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rsimms
10 Point
Registered: 09/08/02
Posts: 2521
Loc: Chattanooga, TN
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My 68-lb blue caught out of the MS River was 50.5 inches long, so your formula sounds about right to me.
Congratulations! I know that was exciting!
I've checked the formula against scales several times. It is amazing how accurate it is.
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#838987 - 07/26/08 01:17 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: rsimms]
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smstone22
16 Point
Registered: 01/11/04
Posts: 16325
Loc: Allardt, TN
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Wow thats amazing!
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#839004 - 07/26/08 02:02 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: smstone22]
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bowriter
Non-Typical
Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40337
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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I didn't read the entire runon paragraph :). Who is the guy in the middle of the first picture?
Oh...great fish. I saw one like that once.
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#839625 - 07/27/08 03:34 AM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: bowriter]
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rsimms
10 Point
Registered: 09/08/02
Posts: 2521
Loc: Chattanooga, TN
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I didn't read the entire runon paragraph :). Who is the guy in the middle of the first picture?
Cliff Brittingham... guy who reeled in the fish.
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#840188 - 07/27/08 01:45 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: ]
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Venison1
16 Point
Registered: 01/09/07
Posts: 12022
Loc: United States
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Sounds like a good time! Nice fish!
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Your faith is not to help you avoid problems but to go through problems with stability.
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#840491 - 07/27/08 06:00 PM
Re: Cliff Whips a Monster Blue Cat
[Re: Umpire]
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DOC1187
16 Point
Registered: 06/14/08
Posts: 10387
Loc: east tn
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nice cat
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