Big Catch at the Base Lake Published June 22, 2009 By Lisa Martin 55th Force Support Squadron Marketing Assistant OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- Airman Matthew Phillips had quite an exciting catch earlier this month at Lake Offutt when he landed a 2 1/2-foot long, 13-pound catfish. "That was my biggest catch," said Airman Phillips, a native of the Chicago area who has been with the 55th Maintenance Squadron for just over a month. "I have hooked bigger fish, but never officially caught them." Airman Phillips said he had been fishing for about an hour without much luck when the catfish grabbed his line. "I moved down the lake to an inlet and was using a bass lure," he said. "I cast out, and bam! The fish hit and instantly pulled to the other side of the inlet. My line was completely pulled out. The fish was really strong; I had to walk down the shore a little bit to keep the fish from snapping my line." The catfish yanked his line back and forth, wrestling for almost half an hour before Airman Phillips was able to pull it out of the water for the catch. He returned the catfish to the lake and continued fishing, catching a small bass as well. "I'll keep fishing at the base lake," he said. "Eventually I've got to catch something bigger. I've just got to figure out what works best out there." The lake, open to all base ID card holders and their guests, is located east of the base, south of Bellevue. The 113-acre lake and 70-acre park offers amenities such as the Cast-a-ways Boathouse, FamCamp campsites, pavilion, barbecue sites and horse stables. "Overall, I really like it here," said Airman Phillips. "It seems like there's a lot to do. And, if nothing else, I can always go fishing."