On Aug. 2, Jared and Brandi Holt went on a date the evening of Aug. 2. And like many couples who love the outdoors, their idea of a date is going fishing.
“We launched our 21-foot aluminum jet boat into the Snake River about dusk and just cruised around for a while enjoying the evening,” says Brandi, who lives in Homedale, Idaho with her husband. “When it got dark we anchored our boat near shore in a 14-foot hole that we know pretty well.”
The spot is the same place where Jared caught his state record flathead in 2022 — a 43-inch fish that Brandi netted for him. That fish had replaced Jared’s previous catch-and-release record for the same species, a 42-inch flathead he caught with Brandi in 2020.
On this night out on the river, they were soaking cut baits with bait-casting tackle and 60-pound test monofilament. They used 6-ounce sinkers to take their 12/0 hooks all the way to the bottom of the hole.
“The place is close to the bank, and we just turned our chairs around and settled in for a quiet evening of fishing,” Brandi says. “About an hour later my rod started to wiggle, I grabbed it, and there was no doubt it was a big flathead catfish on the line.”
Brandi says she knew it was an oversize flathead because it fought close to the boat, deep and strong.
“It was like being hooked to a giant log,” she said. “They don’t fight anything like a channel cat, which come to the surface and are more active.”
She says it took just a few minutes for her to muscle the catfish to the surface, where she first saw its enormous head – then its body.
“I was so excited, the whole thing is kind of a blur. As soon as the fish popped up beside our boat Jared netted it. I told him it was about time he netted a big one for me, because I netted the last two catch-and-release flathead records for him.”
The couple quickly laid out Brandi’s catfish on the deck and measured its length at 44 inches. They knew it qualified for a new Idaho record, so they took photos of the measuring process, then released the fish.
“The flathead swam right away, perfectly fine, which is great about the catch-and-release Idaho records system,” she said. “Flatheads are excellent to eat, but we release them all. We eat fish, but usually crappies or small catfish we get in spring when the water’s cold.”
The Holts are well experienced with the procedure for certifying a catch-and-release Idaho record. But Brandi says she was a little apprehensive about topping her own husband’s 2020 record of 43 inches by only one inch.
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“But [Jared] was fine with me submitting the fish for a record to beat his,” she says. “He says so long as the record stays in the family, he’s all for it.
“My 10-year old daughter Blakely loves to catch crappies and bass, and she got a 24-inch channel cat this year. If she breaks my record for a big flathead catfish, I’d be thrilled.”
Brandi’s 44-inch flathead has formally been accepted by Idaho as the new flathead catch-and-release record. A certificate verifying the record is in the mail, she says, and should soon be delivered to her – the third such certificate with the Holt name on it.
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