South Carolina cat man Benji Brown with a hefty blue cat caught in Lake Moultrie, one of the famed Santee Cooper lakes, on a rainy August day. (Photo by Terry Madewell)
Why We Catfish: A Guest Editorial with Benji Brown
Written by Terry Madewell
For Benji Brown of Spartanburg South Carolina, catfishing is not merely an enjoyable outdoor activity but a healthy compulsion.
I grew up fishing for just about everything that swims, but while still a youngster, I learned that catching big fish was special, and it became my passion. I loved catching big bass, big bream and big catfish out of ponds, rivers and lakes. While a big bass is special, catfish grow bigger, and catching the biggest fish became my obsession, even at a young age. In every place I fished, the biggest fish were catfish.
So, catfish became my primary target because of their size.
If fishing a small farm pond, the biggest fish may be an 8-pound catfish, so that’s my target on that trip. My quest wasn’t to catch the biggest fish in the world on every trip, just the biggest fish where I was fishing at the time.
When I left the service, my catfishing quest continued. I dove deep into catfishing, learning as much as possible by constantly experimenting with new fishing tactics, talking to other catfishermen, reading about catfishing and watching videos on catfishing. (Note from Benji’s wife, Lindsey Brown, his life and tournament-fishing partner: “Benji watches catfishing videos constantly; it’s incredible how much the man studies catfishing.”)
I began tournament catfishing because it involves targeting big catfish. To be competitive in tournaments meant I must become better at finding big catfish.
Through the years, catfishing has morphed into the enjoyment and excitement of adding frequent trips to target giant catfish where they’re frequently caught. It’s also allowed me to connect to catfishing in other ways. I enjoyed fishing tournaments (Team PoleKat) with my son Riley. We took several trips, and he caught a 101-pound blue on the Tennessee River, the biggest on our boat to date.
Now my wife Lindsey and I are Team PoleKat. In addition to fishing local tournaments in the Carolinas, we travel to the Tennessee, Mississippi and James rivers. Our home base and favorite lakes for catfishing are the Santee Cooper lakes. It’s our home away from home now. All these places have a common theme: They’re famous for producing big catfish.
Plus, now the thrill of chasing giant catfish is complemented by going catfishing, competitively and for fun with Lindsey. Also, the many close friends we’ve made at tournaments and on our fishing adventures are a significant part of the catfishing life for me. Sharing the camaraderie of other catfishermen is essential to my enjoyment of catfishing.
But in the back of my mind, the passion for catching giant catfish is still strong, driving me to continue pursuing my catfishing passion.
