OUTDOORS: Bremen man catches 35-pound catfish at Smith Lake

Published 7:59 am Sunday, July 15, 2012

Jim Cordes won’t ever forget the first time he was introduced to scuba diving. 

The year was 1988, and Cordes’ brother, John, brought his gear along to the swimming pool. Jim was given his first taste of life underwater with the assistance of an air tank, and that was all it took for him to fall in love.

“I’ve been hooked ever since,” said Jim, of Bremen, who is now 54. “It’s just a different world under the water.”

Since that day nearly 25 years ago, Cordes has made thousands of dives. Many have come in exotic locations, like Cozumel, the Cayman Islands, the Florida Middle Grounds and the Dry Tortugas.

But as an avid spear fisherman, which Cordes said he became shortly after taking up scuba diving, there’s no better place than Smith Lake. It’s at that local spot he and his buddies, Kenny Wilkerson and Eric Caldwell, fully submerge themselves over 100 times each year. It’s also where Cordes made the biggest catch of his life earlier this summer — a 35-pound, 41-inch flathead catfish.

“Twenty- to 30-pounders are pretty common, but 35, not so much,” he said. “You don’t see big catfish down there that much. In my 25 years, I’ve probably seen six catfish bigger than this.”

Hooking the massive creature was no easy task. 

“They don’t just sit there like they do on TV,” Cordes said. “We were going along, had our spear guns ready and ran into blue gill. Whenever I run into blue gill, I get on the ready mode.

“I saw him in a tree. Just as I was getting up to him, he took off, and I shot him. It was like shooting a bird out of a tree.”

Piercing the beast was only part of the process. Cordes still had plenty of work to do to haul in his trophy fish. 

“You’ve got to get to them, even the smaller ones, when you shoot them,” he said. “I shot him in his head and through his mouth, and it didn’t hurt him. I could’ve turned him loose and he would’ve been just fine.”

Cordes enjoys scuba diving with more than just his friends. It’s also been an activity he’s been able to share with his children. Cordes’ 30-year-old son Brian has been diving since he was 12. His other son, Mick, can’t make deep dives because of a head injury he suffered when he was 11, but still often accompanies the group at shallow depths. 

“I bought their gear when they were babies,” Cordes said. “They grew into it.”

There’s only one other outdoor sport — deer hunting — Cordes likes as much as spear fishing. With one underwater and the other above ground, the two definitely have their differences. 

“We can only stay in the water so long with a tank of air,” he said. “I can stay in the woods all day.”

Cordes has worked with Bremen Fire Department Timber Rescue Recovery Divers for nearly 25 years. Over that time, he said he’s assisted in the recovery of several bodies. Those divers aren’t usually recognized individually, which is just fine with Cordes.

“It’s fine,” he said. “As long as the bodies are found.”

‰ Rob Ketcham can be reached at 256-734-2131, ext. 257 or at robk@cullmantimes.com.