NATCHEZ &8212; Some folks think Steve Kirkland is a little crazy. Even he is the first to admit that fishing off the bank of the Mississippi River with gear designed for deep-sea fishing might look funny, but there is nothing funny about the results he&8217;s having.

Kirkland frequently pulls catfish weighing 25 pounds or greater by just fishing a few feet from the bank.

Some days he doesn&8217;t catch anything, other days he might catch several catfish ranging from three pounds to five pounds, but Kirkland says he just throws those right back.

So why does he do it?

&8220;It&8217;s the eating and the size,&8221; Kirkland said. &8220;Bass don&8217;t get that big. Perch don&8217;t get that big. The other reason is that I&8217;m a redneck, and rednecks always want to say they caught the biggest fish.&8221;

Kirkland said that in addition to bragging rights, he loves the taste of catfish and the simple pleasure he obtains from sitting beside the river alone with his thoughts and the prospect of giant catfish.

&8220;I like it because it takes patience. I drink a few cups of coffee, watch the tugboats go by &8212; it&8217;s a private time,&8221; Kirkland said. &8220;I might be down there three hours and catch one fish, but when I do it&8217;s dramatic.&8221;

The biggest fish Kirkland has caught to date was a 62-pound blue catfish he caught at the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The biggest he&8217;s caught while here in Natchez was a 42-pound 6-ounce yellow catfish.

In order to break the current world record, Kirkland would need to best the current record of 124 pounds caught by Tim Pruitt of Alton, Ill. in 2005.

But Kirkland says he has his eyes set on an even grander prize &8212; he wants to be the world record holder and he believes he has the method to do it.

&8220;I am going to eventually catch the biggest one anybody&8217;s ever caught with a rod and reel,&8221; Kirkland said. &8220;He&8217;s in there. Sooner or later he&8217;s going to mess up. I&8217;m gonna catch it in that same place and as soon as I do I&8217;m going to call 911. There&8217;s no telling how big they&8217;re getting out there in that river, but I&8217;m going after one that&8217;s a state record.&8221;

Kirkland uses a 15-foot rod, with 50-pound test line, a South Carolina rig with the biggest minnows and biggest night crawlers he can find to bait his No. 5 hooks. He&8217;s been fishing that way for years and has no plans of ever changing it.

&8220;If you rig it up the way I do, you get nothing but catfish weighing 5 pounds to 60 pounds or more,&8221; Kirkland said.

Kirkland&8217;s obsession with big catfish began when he was a child. He said his father fished on occasion, that&8217;s not how he got hooked on the sport.

&8220;A friend of mine Dennis Butch used to come back from his fishing trips with these big ole fish and I asked him if I could go,&8221; Kirkland said.

Soon thereafter, Kirkland purchased a pole and tackle suited for going after the larger catfish located in the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

It was there that he learned some tricks of the trade from other fishermen.

&8220;I used to fish beside an 80-year-old man named Bill Williamson,&8221; Kirkland said. &8220;He fished every day of the week, and caught bigger fish than anyone else.&8221;

Kirkland said when he moved to Natchez he didn&8217;t notice anyone fishing out of the river, so he started and he&8217;s been doing it ever since.

&8220;I figured there ain&8217;t nobody else doing it, so why not me,&8221; Kirkland said.

Kirkland said that he hopes more people fish out of the river because he&8217;s gained a lot of pleasure from it and wants to pass on what he has learned from others.

But even if nobody joins him, that&8217;s fine with Kirkland too. He will still be down at the bottom of the boat ramp, twice a week until he lands the fish of a lifetime.