GIANT Cats Showing Up Everywhere

May is the time to catch a giant catfish!

GON has been tracking down reports of a number of jaw-dropping flatheads and blues in recent weeks, and we are going to showcase those huge catfish in the June issue of the magazine.

One of those giant cats was caught by Will Bernard, of Watkinsville, at Lake Oconee on April 19. 

"We had been out since 7 in the morning," said Will. "We caught two hybrids by accident and a little blue cat."

They were fishing with live shad on downlines.

The anglers then went to fish in the shade of the I-20 bridge and dropped a shad down about 15 feet deep over the 30-foot bottom. It was 3 p.m. when the beast hit.

After a hectic battle to get the catfish into the boat, they quickly motored up to Blue Springs Marina, which has a scale, but not one certified for accuracy. Will’s flathead weighed 50-lbs., 8-ozs. but will not count as the new lake record since the scale wasn’t certified.

Watch your toes… that monster catfish was quickly released back into Lake Oconee after being weighed and photographed.

“Maybe it will get even bigger,” Will said. “We don’t like to eat them when they get that big.”

Although heavier flatheads have been caught from Lake Oconee on trot lines and jugs, lake-record fish must be caught on rod and reel. The current lake-record flathead from Oconee weighs 45-lbs., 12-ozs.