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A FANTASTIC
Fishing Experience
SOuTH AmERICA’S WORLd OF
‘CATFISH’
Dan victoriously exhibiting
his 129 lb. Balenton Catfish
(fish released)
Countries such as Venezuela, Brazil and
Columbia are best known to the American
angler as a world where peacock bass and several
other game fish rule.
But for me, Dan Gapen, Sr., I head down
below the equator in search of one of the nine
distinct species of catfish these countries have
to offer. I learned this many years ago when
‘Bobber’ Anne and I, along with Larry
Dalberg, host of the TV Show “Hunt for Big
Fish”, landed on a jungle airstrip on the
Brazilian border in Southern Venezuela. We
came in search of trophy Peacock Bass. We ended up working late day and early morning
hours for the giant catfish the Ventuari River had to offer. On day two a local native
came to camp with a 95 pound redtail catfish he had caught on a hemp rope, a stone
sinker and a crudely hammered out over-sized fish hook. When asked where he had
taken his prize it was learned that a couple blocks below camp was a 60-foot deep hole
that constantly produced enormous catfish. That changed the whole purpose of our trip.
With Peacocks forgotten we began to rig for an evening of catfishing.
As I always do, I carried several 6 and 10 oz. Bait Walker sinker rigs with me. These
would be used as weight to hold down the cut bait which we were told the cats liked best.
Larry dug up some #12/0 and #14/0 saltwater hooks he always carries with him on his
adventures in search of giant fish.
Heavy 7-foot rods and reels loaded with 50-pound Dacron line-gear we would have
used on large peacock bass, would round out our tackle.
Local natives knew very little on where to fish for these monsters of the Ventuari River.
They only knew such fish hung out in the river’s deep holes. We would help by inserting
some of our cat fishing techniques. We would fish a block or so above the holes as evening
came on. As many cat men know, catfish migrate out of the deep holes upstream in search
of food as dark comes on.
Thus it was that the three of us and our native guide tied off on a sunken tree limb a
hundred yards above the same hole the local had produced the 95-pounder in.
It took only ten minutes before Larry and ‘Bobber’ Anne hit a pair of fish at the same
time. After a stubborn fight a pair of redtail cats in the 50-pound range came to boat.
Once landed and photos taken - the pair were released for the TV camera, much to the
bewilderment of our native guide. Such fish would feed his family and relatives for a week.
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F i s h G a p e n ’ s
SOuTH AmERICA’S WORLd OF
‘CATFISH’
(Continued)
Next I hit a huge fish that ended up being a 129-pound Balenton Catfish. It had the
body of a sturgeon and the head of a catfish. We were told by our camp manager that
Balenton Catfish grow up to 300 pounds in this region.
By trip’s end we’d taken 50 catfish over 50 pounds, the largest, my 129-pound
Balenton which was released - for anglers such as you who may come after us.
TIP: Don’t bother fishing for these South American catfish during the day. Piranhas
will strip your cut bait offering as fast as you can present it. Begin your cat fishing one
hour before sundown until one hour after sunrise. If you can get
your outfitter to allow you to work these giant catfish at
night it can be a blast.
The jungles seem to close around you with hundreds
of strange and eerie sounds which can make your
South American adventure the trip of your lifetime.
‘Bobber’ Anne & her
79 lb. Redtail Cat
‘BAIT WALKER’
WITH CUT BAIT
w w w. g a p e n . c o m
66
Larry & Dan hold up a 99 lb. Redtail
Consistent
Enormous
Trophy
CATFISH
TIGER CAT
F i s h G a p e n ’ s