James Mauch caught a 40-pound flathead catfish on Nov. 19 from the Fox Chain O'Lakes while fishing with Capt. Mike Conley of C4 Guide Service.
"It was an awesome and fun experience for me to be able to get out one last time this fall before we gear up for ice season!" Mauch messaged. "He's on these monsters."
Ice fishing is coming.
"It was awesome to finally see it after about a 20-minute fight," Mauch emailed. "Didn't get a length but it was 40 pounds."
The weather forecast and Mauch's off-hand remark are good reminders that ice fishing is on the way.
FOTW, the celebration of big fish and their stories (the stories matter) around Chicago fishing, runs Wednesdays in the paper Sun-Times.
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