The catfish down at the pond have been very elusive for a couple of years. In the past, all you had to do to catch a mess would be to toss out a line and reel it back in, with a two to five pounder wiggling on the hook. They have either gotten wiser or thinned out over the last few years, and now they are much harder to catch.
Saturday evening I was listening to Prairie Home Companion, since this week it was being broadcasted from Columbus, GA. (Wished I had the transcript of the trio of poets that were musing of all things Southern!) With about ten minutes (7:47) left in the show, Sarah had gone ahead on her evening walk and stopped at the feeding ring in the pond. I stuck my head out the door --- "Bring my spinning reel. CATFISH!!!" They were swimming around in circles waiting for an evening meal.
Sunlight was fading as I unearthed a few Red Wigglers and grabbed rods & reels. A nearly full moon was already above the pine trees. We played with the brim for a few moments and then threw to the bottom of the deeper water.
FISH ON!
For the next 30 or so minutes we took turns bringing another catfish to the banks. And then as suddenly as they started biting, they stopped.
Cleaned and dressed, seven 'just the right eating size' catfish are waiting to be joined with coleslaw and hushpuppies.
Spring is almost over and the summer's come
And the days are gettin' long
Waited all winter for the time to be right, just to take you along
Baby get ready.....
And it don't matter if we sit forever and the fish don't bite
Jump in the river and cool ourselves from the heat of the night
Baby get ready.....ooooooooooo.-from Fishing in the Dark lyrics
