First Fishing Trip of 2021 and the 2020 Catfish total...

We got out for the first 2021 catfish trip today. Someone asked what took us so long. Oh just a little rain, snow, a case of covid, you know the usual stuff. It has taken a bit to get my energy level up but I thin I might be getting here. 

Cathy holds up lunch. Even though I don't think the weather could have been any better. It was not too cold, partly cloudy and the water surface was glassy. We tried deep and shallow with no fish in the shallows yet and only three in the deep holes but they were enough to feed us.    

I noticed the white pelicans were having a good feed over deep open water, so good in fact that a couple of hundred water turkeys horned in on the fun. 

That pile in front of Cathy is three catfish fried up nice and crisp. It was the perfect amount. I could not help but think about stopping on the way to the lake to put $17 of gas in the boat. I don't think I could buy two fish dinners in a restaurant for that price. I don't count the truck gas because I would have to drive to town for dinner. That $17 worth of gas will get us at least 5 fish dinners.  

Speaking of fish dinners the total count for fish caught in 2020 was 582. I did not count every bass or bream I have caught while on a canoe trip or the carp Wallace pulled out of Humboldt Park Pond in Chicago so we should be easily over 600 for the year. All catfish  have been eaten, some given to friends, and some traded to folks with gardens for fresh vegetables. There might be a 4 pound package in the freezer. That's a lot of fish eating and most were fresh never frozen. 

So the 2021 count starts with 3. That's nothing fancy but check back in about a year.