Longest time to land a fish?

My boat is in the shop and I'm getting primed up to go so I figured I'd ask, what's the longest you have fought a fish to land it. I fought a blue cat for 25 minutes before we landed him, he weighed 100 pounds on the dot.




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75min in St. Augustine...tarpon 115lb

One of my clients, Rodney Bass, fought this fish for precisely 1.5 hours ... not an estimate, that was on the catch clock.

I often have clients catfishing with very light tackle. The 48 lb. fish was being fought on 10 lb. test line. I've watched a lot of clients battle big cats on light line and fights of 45 mins. to an hour aren't unusual. And sometimes that happens because clients "baby" the fish and won't put the necessary pressure on them to wear them down quicker. But that wasn't the case for Rodney. This particular fish was just an absolute demon! :twisted:

But in the end, Rodney "got 'er done!"

I'd say an easy 30 minutes. 25-30lb Catfish caught out of the pond at Cherry Grove Apartments in North Jackson. Spinning reel with 8lb test.


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maybe 10 minutes tops for a big blue cat. i try to match my tackle to the largest size of fish i might catch. the longer you fight a fish, the better chance it will die if catch and release.

You must be a pretty big ole boy to hold that one up with only one hand :tu:

That's a lot of catfish there!
Did you release or eat that one?

easy45":2zsc5qp8 said:

. . . . . weighed 100 pounds on the dot.

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To answer your question, I'm guilty of not keeping good "timing" records,
but doubt I've ever fought any fish more than 10 to 15 minutes.
Have taken over 5 to 10 minutes to land a good many,
and had a few go around 5 to 10 minutes before breaking the line or finding a way off.

A couple great memories:

1) Back in 1983 I hooked a 4-lb smallmouth while floating the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania.
I was using 2-lb test mono and a 1/8 oz crawfish color Roostertail.
The river was pretty high & swift.
Pretty sure I went nearly a mile between hooking & landing, and that fight was about 15 minutes.

Back then, I typically released most my catch, but would often keep the largest one, releasing lots of smaller ones. We ate that 4-lb smallmouth, and it was quite the feast at the time. Kinda do the catch & release backwards from that now today, sometimes keeping a couple small ones to eat, releasing the bigger ones. Different times back in the early 80's, as for most fishermen, there was more keeping than releasing.

2) Although was again using only 2-lb line on an ultralight, hooked into a Big Brown on the White River. Even though we chased the fish trying to keep him from stripping off too much line, he stripped it all off, "ping". That fight lasted maybe 7 minutes. I don't know just how big, but he was supposedly seen by the guide who directed my cast, and sure did hook the fish he saw. Guide thought at least a 10-lb plus Brown. To this day, I've still never caught a Brown or any other trout (or Big Brown Fish) that big.

Big Brown = Big Brown Trout
Big Brown Fish = Big Smallmouth

I hooked into something while bluegill fishing on Dale Hollow. 4 pound test line and # 6 bream hook. 45 minutes later, 42 pound carp in the boat.

45 minutes. 30lb shovelbill on 6lb test in Swift water.

Ninilchik Alaska 40-45 minutes 155lb Halibut I was the deck hand on the charter boat we had 5 different clients take a turn

Got this approx #135 tarpon this close to the boat after 55 min and she broke me off as I was putting pressure on her. 5-7 more feet and we would have had leader and consider caught. That's a $1000 Loomis 12wt Rod I got bent over like that ! A lot of work.

Same trip. Maybe 20 min on this jack.

I have spent 45 minutes plus on a jack at GSP Pier. I have also fought something,possibly a bigger jack or a shark for longer and never got it to the pier.On both of those 300 yds of line nearly completely unspooled several times.

Something around 40 minutes on a 200+# white marlin on a spinning rod and 30# test. Another fish took me about 30 mins and it was an 85# bluefin tuna on 50# test.

I've fought common carp for over 30 minutes as well as one grass carp that would not give up the fight. I fought a big stick for easily 20-30 minutes last year that was "swimming" in a current break on the Cumberland river. I was convinced it was a monster flathead until I finally got it close to the surface.


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I've had a some memorable battles with some formidable opponents. A few that come to mind:

A 2hr5min fight with a black marlin on stand up gear off the pacific coast of Costa Rica. Video here if you care to watch: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X0KQnqz4wgc

A very long fight with a bluefin tuna that was just shy of 600lbs on stand up gear. I don't know exactly how long the fight was but i hooked the fish before sunrise in the northern GOM and we released it just before 10am.

More tarpon on fly than I can remember. The most painful ones were those that made it to deep water shortly after hooking them. Those battles could be well over an hour.

Caught this drum while walleye fishing on Center Hill, at least a 15 minute brawl. Personal best was a 6 1/2' nurse shark on the flats in the Keys, we poled after it for about a quarter mile before it gave up..too bad it happened before the digital camera age, else I would've had a pic.

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7mm08":3rowws86 said:

Got this approx #135 tarpon this close to the boat after 55 min and she broke me off as I was putting pressure on her. 5-7 more feet and we would have had leader and consider caught. That's a $1000 Loomis 12wt Rod I got bent over like that ! A lot of work.

Same trip. Maybe 20 min on this jack.

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I got a 140 on spinning tackle couple years back. We did land that one (after about 30 mins). But afterwards I was DONE fishing. I don't think my arms could have handled another one like that. :shock: I can't imagine nearly an hour of that torture. :super:

[youtube]vbNnukhTqXE[/youtube]

rsimms":3miq8fhl said:

7mm08":3miq8fhl said:

Got this approx #135 tarpon this close to the boat after 55 min and she broke me off as I was putting pressure on her. 5-7 more feet and we would have had leader and consider caught. That's a $1000 Loomis 12wt Rod I got bent over like that ! A lot of work.

Same trip. Maybe 20 min on this jack.

Click to expand...

I got a 140 on spinning tackle couple years back. We did land that one (after about 30 mins). But afterwards I was DONE fishing. I don't think my arms could have handled another one like that. :shock: I can't imagine nearly an hour of that torture. :super:

[youtube]vbNnukhTqXE[/youtube]

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I was soaked from sweat and those stripping "finger cots" I had on to prevent blisters had lines BURNED into them from the runs. Those pictures are beautiful and actually look like paintings!! Too cool!!

Nothing like you guys have done but back a few years ago I bought an Ugly Stik ultra light combo.
Probably bought it at Walmart but I don't remember.
It had an ugly stik rod and reel.
4'6" I believe was the length of the rod and it came spooled with 4# test line I think.
I was bream fishing at the local pond and hung "something".
I have no idea how long it took but I finally landed it.
15# catfish.
I would get it close and then he would go to the other side or end of the pond.
Close to 200 yards either direction.
I would get all my line back and he would do it again. :rotf: Over and over again, best I remember like 8 times.
Still have the combo hanging in the shop.
He absolutely DESTROYED that reel. Wasn't worth a crap after that one.

Lots of fun.

175 pound halibut - 45 minutes
150 pound sailfish - 30 minutes
26-28 pound striper - 60 minutes, 8 pound test line

Of the 3, the striper was the most challenging even in my boat.

Couple of 50-55 pound King (chinook) salmon took upwards of an hour each because the leaders were light and currents were strong. One took me for a 1 mile walk down stream.

Two hours or so....monster hammerhead, from transom to just forward of the windshield.
16 foot tri-hull a few miles out of Haulover Cut.

Had to pass off the rod to my best friend and we ended up pass it back and forth about every 15 minutes or so.

80 pound test Penn 4/0

We got it to the gunwale and it stuck its head out the water and made a noise at us.

I still have the rod, reel got cooked by something headed north on the east side of Gulf Stream. That one stripped the reel and as we tightened the drag everything started smoking.

I caught a 40 pound kingfish that took about 30 minutes to gaff and finally, a grouper with one filet that weighed near 40 pounds that took about 20 minutes on the 4/0.

I wanna hook a Goliath on my new stuff......dreams dreams dreams