The author (left) and Bill Dance show off a nice Mississippi River blue the author caught with Dance's expert assistance. Photo by James Patterson.

"I'm still in state of total shock," Winchester said as he watched the enormous catfish swimming in the mobile aquarium where it was transferred after the weigh-in. "This is an incredible fish, one I'll never forget catching as long as I live. And for it to happen here at the world championship with all these great catfish anglers participating, that's just icing on the cake."

If Phil King was upset that his record only lasted 24 hours, he didn't show it. But that could be because he had another dream come true on that final tournament day: He and teammates Tim Haynie and Leland Harris brought in five more cats with a total weight of 127.5 pounds. They won the world championship with a cumulative total of 291 pounds, and left with almost $30,000 in cash and prizes.

"For years now, I've had two main goals as an angler: to win a world championship and to catch a catfish over 100 pounds," King said. "This weekend, I accomplished both those things. To say I'm on Cloud 9 would certainly be an understatement."

Targeting Mississippi River Blues
If you've been paying attention, you've noticed we are now entering a time of year when heavyweight Mississippi River blue cats seem particularly susceptible to anglers' enticements. Charles Ashley's 116-pound world record was caught in August, and King and Winchester boated their 100-pound-plus blues the first week of November. I say this not to give the impression that big blues can't be caught during other times of the year. They certainly are. But savvy anglers will find the late summer/early fall period serves up some of the year's best catfishing on the Mississippi River at Memphis. And no doubt, many of you will be clamoring to fish the mighty river while the fishing is good. Here are some tips from three experts to help you in that regard.

King Cats
Although Phil King didn't want to reveal the specific tactics he and his partners used to catch their monster Mississippi River blue, he told me later the methods he employed during this tournament are basically the same as he uses on the Tennessee River where he guides. One of these methods he shared with me during a day of fishing several years ago. It's basically a way of bottom-bouncing baits as you drift. To me, it's a form of "finesse fishing." The angler must develop a keen "feel" for his bait rig to keep in the fish zone without becoming hung up.

King rigs with a modified three-way-swivel rig. The main line (65- to 100-pound-test braid) is tied to one eye of the swivel. To another eye, he ties a 36-inch, 60-pound-test mono leader with two 5/0 Daiichi Circle-Wide Bleeding Bait hooks snelled one above the other at the end. A barrel swivel is tied into this leader, 24 inches above the hooks. The remaining 20-pound-test mono leader, about 8 inches long, is tied between the last eye of the three-way swivel and a bell sinker. In the Mississippi's heavy current, this sinker would probably have to weigh 4 to 6 ounces or more.