Fishing by Myself...

 Cathy and Mary went down to Rose's to get a start on wedding plans. My input was not required. I went fishing all on my own. It was a nice 31 degrees when I got to the lake about 8am but that was not a barrier. I ended up with 20 fat cats in the boat.

It started like gang busters with a bite on the first cast and then four nice fish in quick succession. Things slowed a bit and I poked around some favorite spots with the best bite coming at the place we call old reliable at about 12 noon.

Heard that old joke, the water is deep? Well it's cold too. Depth finder shows the old Angelina River channel at 42' and the water temps on the surface at 47. Those catfish on the bottom don't know how cold it is. Quite a few I caught today had eggs in them. Maybe after this spot of weather they have predicted it will soon be spring like. 

Water turkeys perch on an old dead tree. Probably 25 or 35 feet deep right there and that tree has been standing there since the lake filled up mid 60s. Not many left with horizontal limbs for perches. Likewise there are not many horizontal limbs below the surface either to hold fish at multiple levels. I saw one tree with more birds but a boat flushed them before I could get a picture. 

I knew I had at least 20 fish in the box when a guy motored up and asked about my luck. I told him good and caught a fish as he sat there. He stayed in the area pocking around for a crappie bite and when I left I motored by and told him to take my spot. He said "but I wanted crappie." That seems to be a 1st world response I get more and more when I am generous. It's not what someone wants. 

The day ended up very nice. Hard to believe from looking out the back of the boat as I motor into the Hanks boat ramp cove that snow is expected tomorrow. 

Here is the money shot. I guess it's a good thing Cathy was not along. There would have been 60 fish to clean. This bunch made 5 pound of fillets. 

And here is how the biggest fillets ended up, blackened in a pan New Orleans style. I kind of did it low fat with olive oil instead of butter. I figure I am good having eaten several blackened dishes last trip down south. 

Just for the record the bite is light. Hardly any of these fish hit the line hard. Most of the time I the best way I can describe it is that the rod just felt different and I set the hook and the fish was on.