03-31-12 Report

Today we had a great day on the James River. The weather looked questionable all week but we decided it looked good enough. At first light it was perfect on the water. After about an hour it began to drizzle and that continued until about lunchtime. We struck early and brought in a 26 at the fist spot. 

After that we headed onto our most productive area for the day. Very soon after getting there we had a 21.

After a couple spots we decided to head to the dock for a bathroom break and had a quick hot meal at the Crabby Restaurant at Jordan Point.This break was a great way to pass the time while we waited for the tide to switch and head back out. By the time we got to our next spot it was rolling out and I knew the fishing would get even better. After just a few minutes of having baits in the water we had a nice double of a 25 and a 34.

By this time the sun was out and we had perfect catfishing weather. Best of all there was NO wind. We headed to another spot looking for a couple eaters and maybe another biggin'. We ended up with 5,5,6,10 and 14 pound cats. We made one more big move and had to catch some more shad since I was now out of fresh bait. After a while of sitting with only small fish biting I thought our day might be fishing since it was about time to head in, but before we had to make that decison a pole slammed down and the fight was on.This 30 pounder really fought hard and gave us a great ending to our day.

i had a great crew today that really made my job easy. They handled the fish like pros.We didn't have any missed fish today and we caught fish in all bit 1 of the spots we fished today.

River Report 03/25/2012

This recent rain really brought the river level up

It didn't stop Capt. Joe from catching some Hickory shad and a nice 19 Pound striper this weekend.

Outdoor Life Article

They may have spelled my name wrong but I'll still take the publicity. Check us out in Outdoor Life Magazine this month in the story about catching the biggest fish of your life.

We have a lot of trips coming up the next few weeks so be expecting some great reports.

02/20/2012 Catfish Cadillac Report

Big Cat Guide Service was in action again yesterday .Captain Joe Cannon along with 1st mate BOB THE MAILMAN had a semi-productive day with 4 men from the Fredricksburg area of which 2 were retired FBI agents. Can you imagine 1 disgruntled postal worker(BOB) and 2 retired FBI agents on the same boat. We all came back safe. We were totally excited fishing as we put Danny, the youngest of the 4 and Kevin's son, on a 37 pound personal best big blue cat.

So many guests we take out are rather hesitant on handling a big slimy fish but Danny was totally into it. He was slimed and wore his battle scar( one majorly slimed sweatshirt)proudly the rest of the day. Danny was a special person to us all and it was totally gratifying to see his face and smile after his catch. Priceless. We followed with a couple of fish in the teens later in the day. We missed several nice pull downs,more than normal actually. So we had a good bite all day but very few takers. Having a good crew is half the trip and these guys were very appreciative of our efforts even though we know we Could have done more - mother nature said different. In summary a great first mate, awesome captain and 4 avid and excited fishermen made for a beautiful day on the water.

PS - My Mister Heater did an awesome job again on the Catfish Cadillac where it's always 72 degrees !

Tight Lines Captain JOE Cannon

Waiting for summer? What's a croaker?

Every year the fishing is good in the winter but the phone never rings like it does in the summer. Almost every trip I take out someone will ask me "What is the best time of year to go?" I always tell them Fall, Winter and Spring, more specifically October through April. I always feel bad when we are on a summer trip and their reaction is "Oh Really?" Well here I am officially notifying everyone that if your are planning to take a trip out catfishing you should try and book it for any time between October and the end of April. I'm not saying you can't or wont catch fish in the summer. I'm just saying it's better now. I know a lot of people relate warm weather with fishing but just take a look at our pictures and you will notice that most of the bigger fish we tend to catch during the day(not summer nighttime trips.) I must acknowledge though that our biggest fish was caught in the summer though. The 81 Pounder that is at the top of the page was caught at night in the summer.


Also beginning this summer we will be offering some Saltwater Croaker trips running out of West Point and Croaker on the York River. These are great trips for kids and great for people who want to catch fish for the freezer. We will catch eater size catfish and croakers and you can keep all you catch within the laws of the state. Trips are for up to 6 people and will cost $250 for a 6 hour trip. Trips for 2 people will cost $150 and will be for 4 hours. This will be an introductory price and will most likely increase once this trip is established. So feel free to book your summer trip now and lock in this rate. Also because this is a saltwater trip I am able to provide fishing licences for you and that is already included in the cost of the trip.

Also I will provide a cooler with ice on the boat to keep your fish in
 and a cooler with water to drink and snacks for the day.

These trips will start in May and continue until the fish move back down river sometime in August.

This is going to be a very fun trip and should produce a good amount of meat for the freezer.

We still have T-Shirts for Sale

We still have a few shirts for sale and I have set it up so that you can purchase them from here. They are $25 each. If you are already scheduled for a trip and want us to bring a certain size and color for you just let us know and we can bring it then. These are nice T-Shirts with a front pocket and the logo on the pocket.


Big Cat Guide Service T-Shirt -Orange

Sizes

XL XXL

Big Cat Guide Service T-Shirt -Smoke

Sizes

Small Large XL

Big Cat Guide Service T-Shirt -Brown

Sizes

Large

Big Cat Guide Service T-Shirt -White

Sizes

Medium

Big Cat Guide Service T-Shirt -Blue

Sizes

Large

Catfish Cadillac 12/15/2011 Live Report

Captain Joe is on the water today fishing with First Mate Luke and "Q." I will post updates to this post as he sends them to me. Hopefully they have a great day. It's about 60 degrees out there today so no matter what I'm sure it beats sitting in the office.

After spending some time to find bait on the high tide they landed their first fish of the day. This is a nice looking 40lb fish.

Here is the second fish of the day. 48 pounds for First Mate Luke!

Q with another awesome fish 49 Pounds...


(He says they are getting tired...)

Another great Winter Trip!!!

 

02-04-2012 Report

Today we hit the Pamunkey again but this time I came ready with a cooler of fresh caught bait. Of course when you have plenty of bait the fish aren't as cooperative, but it never fails if you can't find bait they wont stop biting.   Either way it was still a great day. The weather was perfect and everyone seemed to have a good time. Our first spot of the day produced a 20 pound cat



Then we caught some some smaller one's a 15 pounder

and the big fish for the day was this nice 36 pound cat.

\\

the total for the day was 5 8 10 15 20 36

Capt Joe 1-31-2012 Report

Here is another great day on the James for Capt. Joe. This is Mr. Clary's Personal Best.

They had fish of 10,16,28 and 48 pounds.

1-28-12 James Report

Here is another report from the James with Capt. Joe. Today they caught fish of 18,24,34,41 and 50 pounds.