Fishing excursion snags enormous 'thrill'

Editor's note: The following story has been edited to correct the spelling of Mr. LaPlant's name.

Charles LaPlant is a local man who says he "fishes for the thrill," which is exactly what he received after a recent fishing trip on the Mississippi River.

LaPlant, owner of a trucking company in East Prairie, Mo., likes to hunt and fish in his spare time, especially in the river. He said he has been fishing most of his life and as someone who has lived near it his whole life, has developed "a real respect for the river."

"I like to fish on the river when it's safe. Of course, you don't want to go out there when it's up, but lately it's been low enough to get out there," he said. "It's as good a fishery as any one around here. I enjoy fishing in the Mississippi because you never know what you're going to catch."

On Aug. 3, LaPlant and his friend Danny Coppage of Sikeston, Mo., pushed their boat off from the Dorena, Mo., ferry landing to spend the evening fishing strictly for catfish. While he wasn't expecting to hook any particularly large fish, LaPlant said, the men came prepared.

"I use a heavy test line, about 80 pound test line, and big hooks and big poles," he said. "So as long as you don't struggle too much you should be able to pull it in without it breaking off or anything."

The men hit the water about 5 p.m. and for the next two hours caught nothing, which LaPlant said isn't uncommon on most fishing trips. Finally, around 7:30 p.m., he felt a tug on his line.

"I knew when I first grabbed the pole it was going to be a big fish," LaPlant said. "It took me about 20 or 25 minutes to pull it in, but during that time it rolled up to the surface and I caught a glimpse of its tail, so I knew it was a big fish."

On the other end of his line was an 85-pound, 53-inch blue catfish. LaPlant said in his 25 years of fishing, the biggest fish he had ever caught was only half that size.

"That's why I enjoy fishing," he said. "Maybe you'll go out and catch nothing or maybe you'll go out and catch something like this."

For a commercial fisherman, catching a fish that large is less of an accomplishment, LaPlant said, but to pull one in as he did with just a rod and reel can be more of a struggle. Many people who hook a fish that size aren't prepared for it, so the fish breaks the line and escapes, he explained.

"We had good equipment, and I was lucky enough to be the one to catch it," LaPlant said. "And I have to give some credit to my friend Danny because without him, I wouldn't have been able to get it into the boat."

The "monster," as LaPlant calls it, was sitting on ice as he searches for a taxidermist to mount it. Finding one hasn't been easy, he said, but he's still searching.

"I've got plenty of photos though," he said.

LaPlant plans to continue fishing in his spare time, not just for catfish, but also for other sport fish such as crappie.

"I fish not for the meat, but for the possible thrill of catching something like this," he said.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Dorena, MO