Kentucky Catfish

Here's Kelly Hendren with a five pound channel cat. He got the fish in a small Kentucky pond on an 18' Japanese hera pole, 8# line and a #14 carp hook. Maggots were the bait of choice. Never doubt the power of the maggot! Here's a close up of another cat:

The hera poles are really amazing. They are telescopic graphite poles that are incredibly strong. There is no reel used, but they easily handled the catfish. I tried them out for carp the next day. I hooked one carp that promptly broke the 8# line. Note to self: use heavier line for carp!