Catfishing By Myself...

I often take the canoe out by myself for quiet backwater paddles. I rarely take the big boat out alone because it's a big boat and a trip in it starts a party that usually ends with a fish fry on the porch. I did have a chance to slip off to the lake in the big boat by myself this past week and it's good to know I can put a decent amount of catfish in the cooler without the help of the usual catfish pirate crew.

No great size to these fish compared to the shallow water slip cork spring fishing and I had a lot of throw backs and had to stop and measure a bunch of the keepers but the deep water bite is on and in about 35' of water you can find them suspended about 5 reel cranks up. 

I made this guy's photo several times as he hovered about finding good perches on stumps just sticking above the waterline. That's an obstacle to be watching out for as the hot summer continues on and lake levels drop from near record highs. 

In addition to the blue heron fishing my area I noted on our trip last week someone had a string tied to one of my favorite spots. I pulled it up and it was a sealed 5 gallon bucket with some type of chum. Maybe that's the reason for fishing running small. Increased fishing activity getting the big boys. In addition to the bucket tied on a string I snagged something and pulled it up and it was another 5 gallon bucked not tied to a string so looks like serious baiting going on in a spot that as far as I know has been secret. 

Not much to look at but this box of fish made 5 pounds of fine eating fillet meat soon to swim in a belly near you. 

A Catfish Report...

With the big grandkids, Warren and Coraline visiting nothing would be right without a catfish trip. We caught 13 yesterday afternoon. They were deep, which really don't mean a thing since with the nice breezy wind you might have found some shallow chasing shad blown up on a windy sandbar but we figured the bait drop straight to the bottom would be easy kid fishing. Turns out the cats were suspended off the bottom about 7 reel turns. We caught 13. 

Everyone asks when the next fish fry is. I don't know. The stock in the freezer is about 5 pounds and is not growing since we ate these as soon as we got home. The kids fell on fried fish like pilgrims that had been lost in a barren wilderness. 

Don't worry though, we have the fish fry list. We will let you know the next party. 

When it's necessary to explain all things catfish it helps to have some one that can do the talking. 

Family fishing...

It has come to my attention that there are a lot of folks that run around the lake with thousands of dollars worth of electronics scoping out various fish habitats, natural and man made. If they don't see fish they don't cast. Now don't get me wrong I would love such a set up and do use a modest depth finder when fishing but for the most part I am pretty much a Neanderthal when it comes to finding a place to gather up some fish. It's just check the depth, look at the water, the wind and the land nearby and say, "let's try here." 

We did not catch a whole bunch of fish this week and not a lot of big ones but we did have good enough success for a bunch of people fishing a part of the lake that was unfamiliar to us. It just goes to show once again that there are a lot of fish in the lake and that the old ways still work. 

Morgan lands a bass

Father and son double. 

Mo bass. 

A cat fish takes the tried and true beetle spin

Katherine came all the way from Chicago to take big bass honors. 

Matt scores a small bass. 

Parker takes a fishing lesson. 

That's a lunker bream. 

Last day of fishing we found a fair cat spot. 

Of course all limits and size restrictions were observed but is this a legal method to fish?  

Swimming in my belly.