Fishing: Massive flathead catfish caught on Fox River

Ricky Sjurset awoke early Tuesday morning from his fishing boat and was surprised to find it drifting away in the Fox River.

After starting at 7 p.m. Monday, the 26-year-old Elgin native and his friend, Jimmy Hogeland, fell asleep.

At 3:30 a.m., the pair was stirred from their sleep. Something big was pulling them down river.

"He’s like, 'Your pole! Your pole!,' and my pole was almost in the water," Sjurset said. "We fell asleep, and the next thing you know, our boat is going down river. I got a little boat and we just go and drift off somewhere in some slack water ... and we weren't in the slack water anymore."

It took a dazed Sjurset 15 to 20 minutes to find out what was jerking his boat, but the 2008 Larkin graduate eventually reeled in a giant: a 40 pound, 15 ounce flathead catfish on the river between Elgin and South Elgin.

"It was crazy, being half asleep," Sjurset said. "There was definitely some kind of adrenaline going on. We had poles all twisted up and tangled, and we forgot our net."

Sjurset said he's been fishing since he was 5. He picked up flathead fishing three years ago and started a Facebook Page (Flatty Heads) over a year ago to let people know about the monsters in the river.

Travis Witkins of Cary recently caught a 34-pound catfish on the Fox River in Port Barrington.

"That was a nice one, too, and that’s what kind of got everyone out to realize that they’re finally biting good," Sjurset said. "I do see more people out now than I have in the last couple of years."

Sjurset said he sees a lot of 20 to 30 pounders on the Fox River, but nothing as big as Tuesday.

"I flathead fish religiously, so when my gear gets bullied, I kind of figured it was something big."