LAKE OF THE OZARKS – Jerry McDowell, above left, is shown with Greg Fritz of East Peoria, who struggles to lift the 72-pound blue catfish caught by McDowell at Lake of the Ozarks on Oct. 26.  Photo is by Vaughn Bottomly.

SUNRISE BEACH, MO. – I have been going fishing for a week in the Spring and Fall at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri with my brother, several cousins and friends for many years.  It has become more of a challenge since I had a blood clot on my lung in February, 2013, and I am on oxygen 24/7. 

On Oct. 26, I was fishing off the dock by myself for catfish while the rest of the gang was out in boats fishing for crappie. My pole was attached to the dock post by resting in a C-clamp.  I was using a bluegill head on a circle hook for bait, fishing in only 15 feet of water at about 3 in the afternoon.

I had a 20-foot oxygen cord attached to my portable concentrator so I could reach where I need to go to get my net, more bait, etc. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon. I got up and got a different hook and was looking at it, thinking I might change my bait and hook. Don Kramer of Taylorville, formerly of Pekin, used that small hook and shad bait the previous day when he caught a 51-pound and 36-pound catfish off the same dock.  Instead, I decided to call my wife Suzanne back in Illinois to see how she was doing. Just as the phone rang and I heard her pick up, I was distracted by a loud ZIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNG.

I looked up and my pole, a Zebco Hawg Seeker, was being pulled hard to the left toward the center of the lake and the C-clamp was pulled down at a 45-degree angle and about to come off the post.  I hung up the phone and headed for the pole, grabbing it as it pulled hard away from me and the line continued to Zing through the drag.  I have caught several 20-plus pound catfish and a 40-pound catfish, and I immediately knew this would rival those if I could get it in.

I started to be concerned about how much line was on the reel and how strong it was.  I guessed 20- or 30-pound test. Other catfish poles I left at home had up to 80-pound test. The Hawg Seeker I picked up on a fluke as I was packing my vehicle.  It had been in retirement for several years as I purchased bigger and better catfish poles.  Anyway, the big catfish Zinged through the drag, and I initially tried to slow it by putting my left thumb on the monofilament line. It quickly burned my thumb.

As the fish continued to head from the cove to the center of the lake, I slowly tightened the star drag on the real, fearing that the line would break.  The line continued to go out, but finally gradually the big fish slowed and stopped.  I had no idea how much line was left on the reel, but guessed that the fish was in the middle of the main lake. 

 At that point I started slowly reeling him back in, a pull on the rod and a few turns on the reel at a time.  I would get him in a few feet and he would Zing the reel back out. I think it was at this point that I realized my breath had become somewhat labored – I was too excited to notice before then.

I was bringing the fish straight back parallel to the dock and was convinced that when he got even with the docks he would get tangled under them and I’d never land him.  About 30-minutes into the battle (the fish was later dubbed Jaws), I got my cell phone out and called one of the boats and told Don Kramer I would need help landing a catfish.  He was a few miles away fishing for crappie.

Jaws was about 40 yards from the dock when a different boat in our group came in, and I told them that I might need help landing a fish.  I expected Jaws to come to the surface and swirl, or swim in and then do a quick U-turn to try to break the line, but he did neither.  When he was about 15 yards out, I pulled hard on the rod.  My friends were still docking their boat.  His head came to the surface.

It was bigger that a basketball.  He dove to the bottom and my pole bent in half.  The reel Zinged. I have a huge net for large catfish, and I told the boys to grab it and the next time I brought him up to just get his head in it.  Charlie Hurt grabbed the net and asked me if I was I was OK, noticing my heavy breathing.  I hadn’t noticed it for a long period.  Charlie got down in the empty boat well with the net as I guided Jaws in that direction.  I reeled hard and in one last burst of energy brought him to the surface.

Charlie got Jaws in the net with a gasp but couldn’t lift the net as the pole would bend.  Dennis reached down and grabbed the circle part of the net and the two of them got the fish on the dock.  At that point, I turned it over to the boys to get a rope on him as I collapsed into my chair and watched. 
 

“Jaws” was 46 inches long and 72 pounds heavy. After a few minutes I reached in my pocket and felt a sharp prick.  It was the little hook that I was looking at an hour earlier.