Just before dusk two days before America’s 250th birthday, Brad Hilton headed out to go fishing alone. The Hazelwood, Missouri, resident is a lifelong Missouri River catfisherman — and he had a good feeling about the near-shore spot where he anchored his 18-foot aluminum boat that evening. He dropped a couple baits into a 25-foot-deep back-eddy hole, and didn’t have to wait long for the action to start.
“The heat was punishing and the bugs were ruthless, but I had a feeling something truly gigantic was lurking nearby,” Hilton, 28, told Wired2fish. “I’d only had my cut buffalo fish baits on bottom for about 10 minutes, when two rods bowed deep, and pure chaos unleashed.”
Fighting Two Blue Cats Simultaneously
Using revolving-spool Shimano Tekota 600 reels loaded with 50-pound monofilament line, and 100-pound test leaders, Hilton was able to power-fight the massive catfish that struck.
“It was pure chaos fighting two big fish at once,” said the mechanical engineer. “The Missouri is very murky and I had no idea which fish was bigger — and I had plenty of trouble fighting them and getting them to my net and in the boat.”
Hilton said he netted the smaller of the two blue catfish first and put it in his boat. Then he dealt with the larger cat still hooked on the boat rod holder’s second rod.
“The bigger fish got tangled for a few moments around my Suzuki 90 prop, but I got it loose,” he explained. “I learned right then why I use such heavy line: to hold up when things don’t go as planned.
“After a lot of lucky breaks, I ended with both fish in the boat.”
Measuring the Catches
Hilton snapped a quick photo of the two giant cats in his boat. He then released the smaller of the two fish — a 77-pounder.
But he wanted to grab some more good photos of the bigger cat. Hilton put the bigger fish in his livewell and quickly headed back to the Missouri River boat ramp. There, he met his buddy Ryan Ingoldsby. The pair photographed the fish, and then weighed and measured it.
The big cat weighed 101.36 pounds, with a 56-inch length and a 38-inch girth.
“I release all the big cats I catch, and we tried really hard to revive and release the 101-pounder,” Hilton explained. “But the temperature that day was 100 degrees, the river was hot, and the fish just couldn’t survive. So, I took it home, cleaned it, and it’s frozen now. I’ll probably have a big fish fry with my family and friends with those fillets.”
A Dream Come True
Hilton has a YouTube channel named Big River Pursuits, where he shares many videos of his river catfishing exploits. He said that he’ll soon have a video about this pair of catfish that totaled more than 178 pounds.
“I’ve been hunting for a big Missouri or Mississippi River 100-pound catfish all my life,” he said. “This is a dream come true for me, something I’ve wanted since I was a kid.”
Hilton added: “I got a 97-pounder not long ago. I’m having a replica mount made of it right now; I guess I’ll have another one made of my 101-pounder. I don’t know where I’m gonna put them in my home. My wife may make me hang ‘em in the garage.”
