Those big cats are fun on ultralite equipment. A few years back I caught an 11 pound flathead using my 4.5 foot ultralite rod with 4 lb test, while crappie fishing. It took quite a bit of time to get it in. I was running back and forth along the bank to make sure it didn't spool me.
You said you were bleeding the fish to clean it. What exactly is that? I have never heard of that done. When I clean my catfish I usually just nail their head to a stump, make a slit around the body then use pliars to pull all the skin off, then proceed as normal in filleting it. I don't clean the larger catfish, due to the fact they taste like mud, so maybe it is something only done to the larger cats.