Darn, another snag! River fishing can be frustrating with stumps, downed trees and debris along the banks. I lived on the St. Joseph River in northern Indiana, and my friends and I spent many evenings under the tall poplars fishing. We used night crawlers and bobbers to try to keep off the bottom, and reeled in fast past the underwater obstacles.
On one cast, I reeled in nothing but line and I could see my bobber just under the surface, stuck on a stump about fifteen feet out. I tied yet another hook, and went back to coaxing. A couple of hours later, my bobber started moving upstream against the current. It went up and down, lazily following the bank. We laughed when we realized a hungry fish had made a meal of my stranded night crawler.
The bobber would tease us, swimming just offshore, upstream and down, disappearing only to show up again the next day. Later that week, it finally came close to shore. Randy waded out in chest deep water, grabbed the bobber and pulled in a bullhead catfish.
Hey, that’s quite a story. Especially that the fish was still hooked a week later and he was able to walk out and get it.
Comment by lotsofish — September 19, 2006 @ 5:54 pm |
That’s funny. I enjoy fishing too but I have never been fortunate to catch a big one. I use bobber’s too. They can be misleading especially when you have a strong current.
Comment by lvambrandrw — September 19, 2006 @ 6:57 pm |
That’s a very funny story! Miraculous that you saw the same fish and got him and your bobber back.
Comment by cinnamonspider — September 19, 2006 @ 7:31 pm |
I agree. That is a funny story. That fish must have really been hungry to get the bobber in so deep that it stayed for a week. I have always heard that catfish are strong willed and stubborn!!
Comment by kjamrozy — September 22, 2006 @ 1:44 am |
I have no knowledge of fishing and so I feel like a fish out of water
when it comes to commenting. I enjoy reading your posts. They are entertaning and I have no doubt I will come away with some knowledge about fishing. Patience is obviously necesary while trying to outsmart the fish but it also sounds like a peaceful adventure. What is a “bullhead catfish”? Does it have a distinctive mark to earn him that name?
Comment by Julia Garcia — September 22, 2006 @ 9:10 am |
Julia,
A bullhead catfish is a smaller variety catfish that is a scavenger, feeding in muddy bottoms on just about anything it finds. It’s easy to catch because of its voracious appetite and is found in nearly all Indiana waterways.
Other catfish are more picky eaters, and prefer live bait. Some people use bullhead cats as bait for the bigger channel and blue catfish found in the larger rivers and lakes. Channel, Flathead and Blue catfish can get enormous, some reaching 6-8 feet and weighing over 300 pounds! That would be like reeling in a log.
Comment by love2fish — September 22, 2006 @ 10:17 am |
That Randy, he’s so handy!
Comment by Ellen — September 22, 2006 @ 8:29 pm |