Thursday, July 15, 1999
Anglers cast lines for 'Big Bud'
Huge catfish the top prize in annual contest
BY CHRISTINE WOLFF
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SYMMES TOWNSHIP — A monstrous catfish hovers, deep beneath the still, greenish-black waters of Lake Isabella.
The 48-pounder moves only when hungry, lazily swimming out of the depths to hunt a snack.
Tom Wise is dangling one — a bluegill's head on a hook.
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IF YOU GO
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• What: Budweiser Hot Summer Nights Fishing Tournament
• Cost: $30 per two-person team (includes boat rental)
• Details: Winner determined by cumulative weight. prizes in Hamilton County Park District gift certificates.
• Where: Lake Isabella, 10174 Loveland-Madeira Road, Symmes Township.
• Information: 791-1663.
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“This line here would hold him. It's 50-pound test,” Mr. Wise, a retiree from Norwood, said, nodding Wednesday morning to one of two rods balanced on a picnic table with lines disappearing into the lake. “I'd like to catch him.”
It's a prize worth catching, this shovelhead catfish named “Big Bud” and tagged with No. 750. Hauled in and brought alive to the scales, he's worth $100.
The bounty goes up to $500 if Big Bud is caught Aug. 6 during the Budweiser Hot Summer Nights Fishing Tournament.
“There's a whole group of fishermen, and (Big Bud's) what they fish for,” said Neal Ramsey, a park district assistant manager. “A lot hook him, and it breaks the line.”
Big Bud, born and grown to young adulthood in a southwestern Kentucky lake, arrived at 18-acre Lake Isabella at the end of June. He's one of 11 giant catfish dubbed Big Bud and released annually in one of the lakes within the Hamilton County Park District.
Only two Big Buds have been caught — one in 1992, one in '97. Both were rereleased.
The largest Big Bud arrived in 1992 in the district's Miami Whitewater Forest Lake. It's a shovelhead that weighed 56 pounds then and, by now, probably has amassed about 70 pounds, district officials said.
Adding the big catfish is healthy for the lakes, Mr. Ramsey said, because they eat the smaller bluegills and crappies that would overpopulate the lakes without a predator.
“It helps the food chain stay in balance,” he said.
David Cole of Sharonville, who has fished Lake Isabella several times a week for 15 years, thinks he has come close to reeling in the prize.
“I got a 42-pounder, but it wasn't Big Bud. That's the best I've caught,” he said. “I'm after Big Bud or any big fish out here.”
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