Now, This is a FISH

[pdub]

Those of you who use MSN as a home page and have checked it out and surfed it today may have already seen this one.

Catfishing Down South is just another reason to drink. But this guy is serious about it. And he went to where the big ones are. And he caught one. This is unreal. You'd have to be a natural-born beer-guzzling Southern rod-and-line catfisherman to even imagine ... no, even THEN you couldn't, not in your wildest dreams:

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/brawling-with-a-giant-catfish/26azxbf2?from=en-us_msnhp&GT1=42007

[studemax]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

We have some that big here in Kansas, mostly in the big lakes and some northeastern Kansas rivers.
Not easy to catch, and worth the effort just to touch it after hauling it in.
The guy did good. I hope to catch one half that big before I die.
(and they are good eatin' out of the local farmpond, creeks, or rivers)

Use to fish with a fellow from Minnesota. He said they throw catfish on the banks to die - he called 'em trash fish.
After I took him to a Kansas fish fry and he slapped his tongue on some golden brown catfish dredged in cornmeal and flour, he changed his tune and stopped talking about muskies so damn much.

Time to make some doughballs and go wet a line, ya know it?

[pdub]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

We tried the doughballs and every commercially available stinky bait in a can, but in South Carolina lakes the best thing was cut mullet. They used to sell mullet at the grocery store. Some folks bought them for dinner, but we bought them for bait, if that says anything. And leave the fish in the sun for half a day before you cut it into chunks for bait. Or shrimp, same thing. But that's expensive bait - worth more than the fish you're trying to catch. But let it age awhile first.

We caught enough most times to eat and have a fry or a stew. The bigger ones, you needed to stew instead of fry. They tasted muddy if you fried em, but they'll do fine if you make stew. A 5 or 6 pound catfish was a lifetime catch. Take photos. Whatta haul.

The Coleman gas lanterns going on the river bank at 3:00 in the morning, beer cans strewn all around. Supposedly (back then, at least) catfish feed at night. Oh yeah, we were classy. But we sure were fishing. At least that's what we called it. All those years ago. I don't guess the sport's changed much since then, but that's how we played it years ago.

I more prefer sleeping at night now. Ahhhh the young days.

[HoosierGTA]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

Atleast you didn't use explosives. It probably would have take an anti-sub depth charge to get him to surface!

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

Animal Planet's River Monsters has shown some truly massive fish cruising fresh water ways of the world.

[studemax]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

Animal Planet's River Monsters has shown some truly massive fish cruising fresh water ways of the world.

THAT is a great show. Dad and I love it.

[studemax]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

The bigger ones, you needed to stew instead of fry. They tasted muddy if you fried em, but they'll do fine if you make stew.

Let 'em swim around in the stock tank for a day or two, or put them in a big Coleman cooler and change the water twice for sweeter tasting cats. Or do like my Granny did, and soak the filets in 7UP overnight before breading them and hitting the skillet. Way better! 7UP works on carp, too - breaks the bones down before cooking.

[JOES66FURY]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

Animal Planet's River Monsters has shown some truly massive fish cruising fresh water ways of the world.

love that show!

[Gary 351C]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

Animal Planet's River Monsters has shown some truly massive fish cruising fresh water ways of the world.

love that show!

X 2!

[pdub]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

The bigger ones, you needed to stew instead of fry. They tasted muddy if you fried em, but they'll do fine if you make stew.

Let 'em swim around in the stock tank for a day or two, or put them in a big Coleman cooler and change the water twice for sweeter tasting cats. Or do like my Granny did, and soak the filets in 7UP overnight before breading them and hitting the skillet. Way better! 7UP works on carp, too - breaks the bones down before cooking.

I think I've heard that 7-up thing before but it would have been after I gave up all-night catfishing, I think. Maybe we should have all known Granny's secrets back then.

Fishing from the bank. During the daytime we'd throw our lines out as far as we could, ...well, we ALWAYS threw as far as we could, halfway across the channel, and there comes some dudes in a bass boat fishing as close to the bank as they could. We never could figure that out. And from some of the noodlin' videos out there, that's where the giant catfish is, too. Right by the bank under a stump or laid up inside an old tire. We never figured that out, why we didn't catch the Big One.

And some of the stories from all those sorties on the river bank....Here comes the game warden in his boat. We'd all show our fishing licenses, except one day old Bud tried to ignore the game warden. "I'm ain't fishin', I'm just teaching this minnow to swim." The game warden started beaching his boat - now he's pissed. Uh, Bud, show the man your llicense. He finally did. Scared us all, did Bud. Heck, we'll ALL get locked up. Bud, what were you THINKING? And beer cans all over, of course.

Or the old joke about the same situation where the game warden showed up and one guy in the group threw his rod down and ran through the woods. The game warden beached his boat and took off after him. the game warden soon caught him and said, "Now I've got you for fishing without a license and running from the law."

The guy calmly opened his wallet and showed the game warden a valid license.

The game warden asked, "So why did you run?"

"Because none of them other boys had THEIRS!"

[studemax]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

Pretty much grew up with a pole in my hand right next to the river.
In the summer we used to seine for bait in the afternoon, and baited our half-mile loop of trot & bank lines after supper.
Checked the lines at midnight and again in the morning.
Got pretty good at cleaning fish by age 10.
Me and my two brothers kept the neighborhood in fresh fish until we moved my sophomore year.

Dad was THE noodler in the farm town he grew up in.
People thought he had a rash around his wrists - they were raw from those big cats trying to twist off his hands.

[pdub]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

My daddy, rest his great soul, did at least two things for me directly. He did a lot more indirect things, of course, teaching me the ways of life. But he put a fishing pole in my hand, and he put a golf club in my other hand.

I could've done without the golf club. I played golf for 20 years and never got any better as an adult than I was as a kid. In fact, I got worse. I don't know why. I'm great with hand-eye things, that's all I do for entertainment even now. Video games, musical intsruments, etc. But golf for me just didn't work. I was terrible. Glad I finally realized that fact. Was never going to be good at it. And it sure is expensive to do.

Fishing DID take hold. And now I don't have the time or the inclination to do it (fishing). But it was sure a whole lot of fun. Especially the fellowship during the fishing sorties with all the crazy guys. Gosh, the stories we all can tell as a result of it.

[Ron Ward]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

I still go fishing as often as I can. My brother came to town last weekend and took me out on his boat until way after dark. I posted this earlier in the "pic of the day" section, but it seems more appropriate here:



Caught off the face of the dam in about 2 ft of water on , get this, a perch colored Fat Rap.


Ron

[studemax]

Re: Now, This is a FISH

I'd be proud to have caught that one!
Good on ya!