The Ever Popular Fishing Report...

I have not had a catfishing trip since July 4th. There's been some bream fishing and lots of swimming trips to the pools, the lake or any other place holding water with the 100 degree temperatures that have been the norm but we decide we were catfish hungry and grabbed a couple of grandkids to headed out with the big boat.

We almost made it a quick trip because as we headed south down the long cut we spotted on of those pool noodle pvc pipe floating lines bobbing along all by itself and it obviously had a fish on. It was a bigger noodle apparatus than I would make and it was tipping up and as the boat approached the fish began pulling it completely under. It was a big fish but as Cathy snagged the line with the boat hook we caught only a glimpse of a white belly as it rolled and broke the trotline cord attached to the noodle. I'd guess a 10 to 15 pound fish. In the middle of the lake like that no telling where he came from or how long he had been dragging the noodle around. Noodle was not marked with name, address or date set out as prescribed by Texas law.

Please, it you are a sportsman, harvest responsibly, follow the law and don't leave gear floating in the lake.        

We continued on and began hand fishing our favorite deep spots with punch bait. I guess we still got it, catching fish, riding herd on grandkids because fishing from about 9:30 to noon we managed 14 nice fat channel cats and a few smaller throw backs. Fishing seemed a little slow compared to the last trip but it was hard to judge it with these two monkeys onboard. 

There were a couple of cool off swims. 

Saw only a couple of other fisherman. One who was loading as I was launching complained, "Hot, no breeze, could not find the perch and caught one small catfish." As you can see from the birds that by he time we got out there there was some breeze and these natural born fishermen who only live and eat if they catch fish fishing where it's breezy is the key because fish like moving water.   

Grandma's boat running on the trailer lesson. 

14 catfish. We ate them with baked beans, fried okra and hushpuppies on the side. That's an old traditional meal. Half of all catfish species live in North America. Hushpuppies have their origins in native American cuisine. Okra, with it's origins thought to be in West Africa or Ethiopia was introduced by imported peoples to the new world in the 1600s and noted in American by the early 18th century. As Phil Harris said, "That's What I Like about the South."