The Ever Popular Fishing Report...

There was a lot to see on a cool, brisk day at the lake. The wind was out of the north, the fishing were biting slow enough to not be work but in numbers that guaranteed a fish fry and it was absolutely beautiful. This first photo is the boat ramp at Hanks Creek. I put my new lifetime senior parks pass to use as my launch permit.  

I had a bit of trouble getting on track for catching as Cathy and her brother Matt got right down to business with good fish. Even though new regulations place no size restriction on the catfish we still threw back a bucket full of small fish. Final total for the day was 39 cats with a lot of them being blue cats. 

Here's Matt with a fat cat. We were using the old favorite JPiggs punch bait.  The stump you see us tied to has 29 foot deep water to your left and to your right it's 34 feet dropping quickly into a channel of some sort that 43 feet deep. It's the perfect ambush point sitting right on that drop. Only trouble was this day anyone sitting on the shallow side of the boat caught nothing. That's the side I started out sitting on. Fortunately when on a pontoon boat if someone gets up to put a fish in the livewell you can just get their spot.

Zoom this photo up for a look at a flock of gulls working a school of bait fish. I suspect there's big fish under there. 

A couple of white pelicans have made the trip down from the northwest, California and Canada.  These early birds are the two that least like the cold. The others will soon follow. They are fishing for the same meal the gulls are after. They do not dive for their food and eat about four pounds of fish a day. 

East Texas fall colors, blue sky, bluer water, red dirt and dead pines killed by the high water this past spring. Ok, there's a few red trees in there also. 

I zoomed this photo up pretty good. We are probably six miles from that bridge. 

A meeting of the East Texas Hygiene Committee to discuss the disposal of a carp carcass.  Those two on the right at drawing lots to see which one eats after she gets through. 

Meet our new fish cleaning helper. His name is Balls. We kept a few of those 10" newly legal cats for frying whole. 

Here's a plate of some good Texas cooking with whole fried catfish, slaw and a soup of red, black and white beans seasoned with Zumo's sausage.

My grandchildren are catfish eaters. It seems to just come natural to them. 

Here's a young man that can't be bothered while he's working on making a mess of fillets and Pop Pop's famous hushpuppies swim in his belly. You better not bother Pop Pop either while he gives the cats a swimming lesson.