Carnegie Lake 8 lb channel catfish pic

[NJ219bands]

Caught it yesterday evening with my homemade corn meal bait on a #8 treble hook, 12 lb test line and my very old Mitchell #300 spinning reel and 7' Ugly Stick. It hit hard and fought tough for > 5 minutes, giving me and my drag a workout. Since I couldn't beach it because of a dropoff, I jumped into the lake with my LacRosse knee boots but its head was bigger than my hand so I couldn't grab it. When I put my thumb in its mouth, it tried to crush it a few times. They are really strong.