the long pole catfish fishin' club.
Some several years ago I started a fishin' club. It's called The Long Pole Catfish Fishin' Club. To become a member you must catch a catfish on a pole 10 1/2 feet or longer. To be a bona-fide member you must catch a catfish weighing at least 10 pounds. To be a charter member you must catch one of at least 20 pounds. To be a life member you must catch one of at least 30 pounds. To be anything more you must catch one weighing whatever my biggest one weighes at the time. (about 33 pounds I think) Our Grand High Pooh-Bah Second in Command to the Great and Glorious President, has one over 70 pounds.
We have great fun. It all started with just as couple of us, going down to the lake or river and carrying a cooler full of baloney and bread and one of liquid refreshment. (always throw the fish in the cooler with the cans. Baloney takes on a funny taste when left with fish too long.) It gravitated into 20 or 30 people showing up, toting half pigs, big fish fryers and all sorts of other stuff to eat. We feed an army on pig cooked in the ground, catfish and hushpuppies. Some of these people we might even know.
In my younger days we would seine farm ponds. (always find a farmer who wants his pond seined, they get kinda upset if you don't ask) We'd use this net about 75 feet long, two people on each end dragging it and two in the water keeping it free from snags. I liked being in the water.
Once you got it to the end of the pond you'd simply pick the fish out and toss them on ice, then take them back home, filet them and have a feast.
One "friend" of mine invited me out to his place to go catfish fishin'. I jumped at the chance, knowing that he lived on the edge of this big swamp known as "Ghost River". It's where the Wolf River spreads out into this huge bottom and creates this shallow lake. It's reknown for crappie and bass and the huge catfish they hang out in the many creek channels. It's also well known for 6 foot cottonmouths and 80 pound snapping turtles but I like snakes and turtles don't run all that fast.
When I pulled up I found the cast of "Deliverance" resting on the porch. As I started to gather my fishin' poles and stuff from the back of my truck my "friend" told me I wouldn't be needing it. Well I just figured we were gonna run some trot lines which was fine by me.
When we reached the edge of the swamp and everybody started taking their shoes off, except for Granny, she wasn't wearing any to start with, and taking their shirts off, thankfully Granny left hers on, I began to get a bit curious. I was even more so when I saw that everybody was wading out into the black algae covered water and that the only boat was being towed by my "friend's" cousin who I believe may have also been his brother and that the boat was only a little 10 foot john boat. Well when in Rome.....
After we waded through this stinking mud and fetid water about a hundred yards we came upon a deeper spot where the water flowed a nice, even, coffee with milk brown color signifying a creek channel. This was much nicer although it was deeper, about chest high. Shoulder high to Granny. I was about to inquire of my friend just what the hell we were doing when his Father/Uncle dove under water and began thrashing about. The whoopin' and hollerin' commenced and the family was shoutin' "Whoooo Papa, Get him Papa, Ohhh that's a big un". Papa burst from beneath the water, blowing water and shaking his head. With a heave he threw about a 15 pound catfish into the litlle boat. Assuming that he meant to do all that, I was impressed.
I was told that they had placed barrels and large pipes in the creek bottom for the catfish to hole up in during the heat of the day. As we waded down the creek, we would stop at each marker and Papa would feel around in the hole for a fish. If he felt there was one in there, then all the young 'uns would fight over who got to grab it. After a few of these incidents, my "friend" said, "Hey, we got us a guest here, let's find him a good 'un". The delight I felt at his generosity cannot be expressed here.
I was given a leather glove and the instructions to just feel around and stick my hand in his mouth until he clamped down and then grab him by the gills or whatever was handy. My interest centered on these last instructions.
I did think to ask how one would know whether or not one of the afore-mentioned snapping turtles had set up housekeeping and was told that the bottom mud would be all soft, a catfish makes a hard bed. I then asked "Well in the process of figuring that out, what happens if I grab a turtle".
"Don't stick your hand in his mouth."
I'm happy to tell you that I kept all my fingers, and I managed to bring out a nice little 6 pound catfish. I would have preferred them telling me beforehand that when you try and stick your hand in their mouth they start to spinning around and feel like a chainsaw has ahold of you, but it was fun.
And Granny could sure cook.
We have great fun. It all started with just as couple of us, going down to the lake or river and carrying a cooler full of baloney and bread and one of liquid refreshment. (always throw the fish in the cooler with the cans. Baloney takes on a funny taste when left with fish too long.) It gravitated into 20 or 30 people showing up, toting half pigs, big fish fryers and all sorts of other stuff to eat. We feed an army on pig cooked in the ground, catfish and hushpuppies. Some of these people we might even know.
In my younger days we would seine farm ponds. (always find a farmer who wants his pond seined, they get kinda upset if you don't ask) We'd use this net about 75 feet long, two people on each end dragging it and two in the water keeping it free from snags. I liked being in the water.
Once you got it to the end of the pond you'd simply pick the fish out and toss them on ice, then take them back home, filet them and have a feast.
One "friend" of mine invited me out to his place to go catfish fishin'. I jumped at the chance, knowing that he lived on the edge of this big swamp known as "Ghost River". It's where the Wolf River spreads out into this huge bottom and creates this shallow lake. It's reknown for crappie and bass and the huge catfish they hang out in the many creek channels. It's also well known for 6 foot cottonmouths and 80 pound snapping turtles but I like snakes and turtles don't run all that fast.
When I pulled up I found the cast of "Deliverance" resting on the porch. As I started to gather my fishin' poles and stuff from the back of my truck my "friend" told me I wouldn't be needing it. Well I just figured we were gonna run some trot lines which was fine by me.
When we reached the edge of the swamp and everybody started taking their shoes off, except for Granny, she wasn't wearing any to start with, and taking their shirts off, thankfully Granny left hers on, I began to get a bit curious. I was even more so when I saw that everybody was wading out into the black algae covered water and that the only boat was being towed by my "friend's" cousin who I believe may have also been his brother and that the boat was only a little 10 foot john boat. Well when in Rome.....
After we waded through this stinking mud and fetid water about a hundred yards we came upon a deeper spot where the water flowed a nice, even, coffee with milk brown color signifying a creek channel. This was much nicer although it was deeper, about chest high. Shoulder high to Granny. I was about to inquire of my friend just what the hell we were doing when his Father/Uncle dove under water and began thrashing about. The whoopin' and hollerin' commenced and the family was shoutin' "Whoooo Papa, Get him Papa, Ohhh that's a big un". Papa burst from beneath the water, blowing water and shaking his head. With a heave he threw about a 15 pound catfish into the litlle boat. Assuming that he meant to do all that, I was impressed.
I was told that they had placed barrels and large pipes in the creek bottom for the catfish to hole up in during the heat of the day. As we waded down the creek, we would stop at each marker and Papa would feel around in the hole for a fish. If he felt there was one in there, then all the young 'uns would fight over who got to grab it. After a few of these incidents, my "friend" said, "Hey, we got us a guest here, let's find him a good 'un". The delight I felt at his generosity cannot be expressed here.
I was given a leather glove and the instructions to just feel around and stick my hand in his mouth until he clamped down and then grab him by the gills or whatever was handy. My interest centered on these last instructions.
I did think to ask how one would know whether or not one of the afore-mentioned snapping turtles had set up housekeeping and was told that the bottom mud would be all soft, a catfish makes a hard bed. I then asked "Well in the process of figuring that out, what happens if I grab a turtle".
"Don't stick your hand in his mouth."
I'm happy to tell you that I kept all my fingers, and I managed to bring out a nice little 6 pound catfish. I would have preferred them telling me beforehand that when you try and stick your hand in their mouth they start to spinning around and feel like a chainsaw has ahold of you, but it was fun.
And Granny could sure cook.
posted by PK at 10:50 PM
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