Post by chefjim on Apr 1, 2008 18:04:35 GMT -6
Here's another story about an evening I had last Summer. Like I always say, "Catfishing is hard work"
Last night, I packed up my little van with the usual necessities for a night of fishing, such as a case of WalMart sodas, 5 or 6 boxes of Little Debbie cakes, and a set of fresh batteries for the portable radio to make sure I could listen to a full night of "Coast to Coast AM". Then down to the lake I went (the tailwaters below Taylorsville Dam in Taylorsville, Ky.)
I got set up and was in the water about dusk. It started out good.I had a couple of good runs, and on the 3rd one I pulled in a nice, fat little flathead of about 10 lbs or so. I kissed her on the lips and sent her back into the water. Over the next couple of hours, I caught 3 more in the "at least they're keeping me busy" range, both blues and another flat.
Then things started going downhill. A school of Gars descended upon me thick enough so I could see them swirling all around. All 8 of my clickers went wild at once, quitting a moment later leaving me with 8 hooks to re-bait. After muttering a bit of &%$*($)$^)^#$#(, I thought fine, I'll leave the poles for a bit before re-setting and grab my cast net and walk the hundred yards to my other spot for catching bait. The first couple of casts yielded a nice catch of shad and bluegills, but the third got me a Gar about 3 feet long. By the time I got the net in and on the bank, the cast net was pretty well shredded, so with a bit more %^(*^)(%)%)%)%)$$^, I threw the net into the closest trash receptacle, and as far as the Gar.....well never mind what I did with that.
Ok, time to go back to reset the rods and get back in the water. I walked back to them and stood there and smoked a couple of cigarettes, scanning the water for any top swirling. None! I re-baited and got back into the water with a couple of rods, and caught another nice 15# blue.
Good, I thought, back in business. I pulled in a line to check it, and as I dragged the line across the water, it caught on a little stick, pulling it in. I swung the hook and stick in and grabbed it with my other hand.....but wait......it didn't feel right......The "stick" was really a little water moccasin that I was standing there holding!
%*^((*^(*)*$)#$^()#^)!!! In no certain order, the snake, rod and reel, and I went about 40 feet straight up in the air and ended up in the lake.
Things went smooth until daybreak, when I noticed that almost as soon as I threw out with my 10/0 hooks with BIG chunks of shad, the hooks would be stripped. No runs, nibbles, nothing. Just stripped hooks.
After about an hour of this, I looked out on the water and saw an otter pop to the surface, roll over on his back, and set a very familiar chunk of shad on his chest and begin to eat. He even looked over at me and gave me the "CaddyShack Gopher" wink and a smile as he had his breakfast.
Wellll..... My Little Debbie Cake supply was gone, and Coast to Coast AM had been replaced on the radio by the morning traffic report anyway, so I gathered up my empty wrappers and reeled in my lines and packed up the little van so it would be ready for the next outing (whenever I had sufficiently recovered from this one). Sighhhh....
Little Debbie Cakes: $1.09. Case of WalMart sodas: $3.50. A good night of catfishin': Priceless
Last night, I packed up my little van with the usual necessities for a night of fishing, such as a case of WalMart sodas, 5 or 6 boxes of Little Debbie cakes, and a set of fresh batteries for the portable radio to make sure I could listen to a full night of "Coast to Coast AM". Then down to the lake I went (the tailwaters below Taylorsville Dam in Taylorsville, Ky.)
I got set up and was in the water about dusk. It started out good.I had a couple of good runs, and on the 3rd one I pulled in a nice, fat little flathead of about 10 lbs or so. I kissed her on the lips and sent her back into the water. Over the next couple of hours, I caught 3 more in the "at least they're keeping me busy" range, both blues and another flat.
Then things started going downhill. A school of Gars descended upon me thick enough so I could see them swirling all around. All 8 of my clickers went wild at once, quitting a moment later leaving me with 8 hooks to re-bait. After muttering a bit of &%$*($)$^)^#$#(, I thought fine, I'll leave the poles for a bit before re-setting and grab my cast net and walk the hundred yards to my other spot for catching bait. The first couple of casts yielded a nice catch of shad and bluegills, but the third got me a Gar about 3 feet long. By the time I got the net in and on the bank, the cast net was pretty well shredded, so with a bit more %^(*^)(%)%)%)%)$$^, I threw the net into the closest trash receptacle, and as far as the Gar.....well never mind what I did with that.
Ok, time to go back to reset the rods and get back in the water. I walked back to them and stood there and smoked a couple of cigarettes, scanning the water for any top swirling. None! I re-baited and got back into the water with a couple of rods, and caught another nice 15# blue.
Good, I thought, back in business. I pulled in a line to check it, and as I dragged the line across the water, it caught on a little stick, pulling it in. I swung the hook and stick in and grabbed it with my other hand.....but wait......it didn't feel right......The "stick" was really a little water moccasin that I was standing there holding!
%*^((*^(*)*$)#$^()#^)!!! In no certain order, the snake, rod and reel, and I went about 40 feet straight up in the air and ended up in the lake.
Things went smooth until daybreak, when I noticed that almost as soon as I threw out with my 10/0 hooks with BIG chunks of shad, the hooks would be stripped. No runs, nibbles, nothing. Just stripped hooks.
After about an hour of this, I looked out on the water and saw an otter pop to the surface, roll over on his back, and set a very familiar chunk of shad on his chest and begin to eat. He even looked over at me and gave me the "CaddyShack Gopher" wink and a smile as he had his breakfast.
Wellll..... My Little Debbie Cake supply was gone, and Coast to Coast AM had been replaced on the radio by the morning traffic report anyway, so I gathered up my empty wrappers and reeled in my lines and packed up the little van so it would be ready for the next outing (whenever I had sufficiently recovered from this one). Sighhhh....
Little Debbie Cakes: $1.09. Case of WalMart sodas: $3.50. A good night of catfishin': Priceless
