Upstate angler catches 103-pound catfish at Santee

103-pound catfish anchors winning sack for Team Catastrophic Failures

Brad McCall of Anderson, S.C. caught a 103-pound Arkansas blue catfish at Santee this past Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. The big catch came at just the right time. He and Mike Durham were competing in the Santee Lakes Catfish Club tournament out of Blacks Camp.

McCall caught the 103-pound catfish while trolling with cut bait on a channel ledge.

“We were pulling gizzard shad and white perch with the trolling motor in 15- to 20-feet of water on a channel ledge,” said McCall.

Not surprisingly, McCall and Durham won the tournament. Their three-fish limit totaled 172.7 pounds.

McCall was fishing with a Mad Katz fishing rod in the limited edition Patriot color.

Mad Katz rods were also used in another tournament win on Saturday

Becoming a part of the triple-digit club was a big deal for McCall. And Saturday was a big day for Mad Katz Gear. McCall’s fish is the biggest ever taken on a Mad Katz rod, breaking the previous weight of 83.4 pounds. The Carolina-based fishing rod company also saw another catfish team win a tournament while fishing with the company’s rods.

“Mad Katz had a second tournament win on the day. Team Southern Legacy (Gerald Smith and Trey Smith) won the Catfish USA River Hogs event on Lake Wylie. They had a total weight of 74.06 pounds with a big fish weight of 57.14 pounds,” said Matt Knight of Mad Katz.

All catfish weighed in at Santee Lakes Catfish Club and Catfish USA River Hog tournaments must be alive. They are all released alive after the weigh-in is complete.