Giant Oconee Flathead

James McClain, of Watkinsville, his son Dylan, 13, and nephew Brandon, 10, of Athens, were jugging at Lake Oconee on May 18 when they hooked a giant flathead catfish.

“On this particular morning, we had set about 20 jugs, and when we pulled up next to one of them, the jug went under,” said James. “We chased the jug around the lake for an hour until we finally were able to grab the jug. When we started pulling the line on the jug out of the water, we saw the tail first and knew we had a big fish, but we had no idea how big. We were finally able to pull it up to the surface and couldn’t believe our eyes. It was a monster flathead!”

The three anglers were able to get the big appaloosa partially in the net, and they slowly motored back to Parks Ferry where they were camping. They wanted to weigh the fish.

“The scales read 65 pounds. We were all in awe,” said James. “After just a few minutes, we decided to put the fish back in the lake so that someone else could have the experience of catching it. This may be the biggest fish that myself, my son or nephew will ever catch, but it is also a day we will never forget!”