big_pond I'm not expert on catfish, but I will agree with your point on stripers...
However, one thing I have noticed is that the larger fish seem to be more susceptible. I know normally if you catch a smaller fish(in the 18in and under category) then they normally do fine. I think it may have to do with the fight as mentioned earlier. Big fish take a long time to reel in and therefore are most exhausted at the end of the fight. Take for instance....if you run constantly for 5 minutes at the end you maybe a little out of breath and a sweating a little, but if you run for 30 minutes as fast and hard as you can imagine what it would feel like. I think this might be the same thing that happens to the larger fish.
But I'm not expert, just something to add to the pot of information. Maybe Bob or one of the others can add in factual proven information to the topic.
Chris
