Fishin' Trip on the Big Muddy | SouthernPaddler.com

Fishin' Trip on the Big Muddy

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
It wuz Fathers Day 'n I wuz punchin' paper 'n whackin' surly bartenders when Miz Bear come out with the celluarized phone. It wuz Lance tryin' ta raize a work crew fer a trip ta the Big Ditch ta put out hoop nets.

It haz been quite a while since I done that. Today I feel near bout 113 years old. I got tar on me that wont wash off, but we got 12 nets fishin'. The nets aint new, but they wuz newly tarred. That iz how I come ta have tar on me. Dicky went along, but I done all the net settin'.

My balance aint near bout good az it wuz. I near bout fell off in the river 6 'er 5 times. I got my foot tangled up in rope twice. It wuz a bass fishin' contest yesterday so the river wuz plum fulla high dollar speedy boats, plus a few Bayliners 'n such with purty gals roastin'. Sad ta see so many folks. Only saw two commercial fishin' fellas.

Lance done a lotta singin'. I kept thinkin' bout that country song where the fella shot the juke box. Dicky iz deaf, so it didnt bother him much....less he wuz readin' Lance's lips.

Lance sez I gotta head out Wednesday afternoon ta see if we done any good. I dont know if I aim ta go. Ever empty net will be my fault. Ever net fulla fish will be cuz he picked the rite spot.

I tole him that ole folks oughta fish with a cane pole frum the bank....in the shade....sippin' on cold beer 'n enjoyin' a cool breeze. Either that 'er fishin' fer sardines down ta the grocery.

regards,

bearridge
bodine fishy school


The man who prefers his country before any other duty shows the same spirit as the man who surrenders every right to the state. They both deny that right is superior to authority.
Lord Acton
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
Lance sez we got 300 pounds a yellow cat (it wuz one channel cat in there), but I figger 250 wuz more like it. Lance sez hiz son-in-law Chris (who made all my canoe racks) kin clean 'em all in 30 minutes. I am plum wore out 'n dont care ta watch. I jest come home 'n put all my clothes in the washer 'n headed fer the shower.

It wuz mitey hot this afternoon. Not much breeze. Almost no shade. We had the river near bout to ourselves. Not one barge come by. A fella wuz out showin' hiz two boys how ta catch the fresh water shrimp fer bait. We seen two other fellas runnin' a trot line up close ta a sandbar, but that wuz it.

We run 12 nets, took up 5 'n put 'em back out upriver.

Lance aims ta go back Friday. I hope he finds some good help. :wink:

I figger 300 pounds a fish iz plenty fer one week. He gave Buddy 'n Dicky bout 75 pounds. He'll give away the rest away tomorrow.

regards,

bearridge
fishin' geezer


Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. Dorothy
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
250 pound catfish must dress out around 180 +- a few pounds. One helluva frying pan, ehh?


I recollect when I was cookin panckes fer ole Paul (Bunyan, that is). I'd tie a whole side of bacon on each foot and skate around that griddle to grease it up. Griddle was so big I got lost one morning, and didn't show up until time for grilled cheese sandwiches fer lunch.

Ole Paul wasn't upset though, he was a gud guy.
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
I show ya how conservative I am (keepin' Lance honest) 'n ya come back with a Bunyon tale? :wink:

We had a cooler the size of a small coffin. It wuz plum fulla fish. I reckon we had tween 20-25 fish. I couldnt lift it. We had ta put half the fish in the other big cooler so we could lift 'em outta the boat.

None of 'em wuz az big az the ones we caught a few years ago that landed us in the pichur history of Bolivar County, but the total weight on all the yellow catfish in this pichur come ta bout 200 pounds. The biggest one wuz 75 pounds. The smallest one wuz bout 30 pounds. They wuz all in one net. Today we had fish in 8-9 nets, but none bigger'n 35 pounds.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/164 ... 4133dgFgWe

regards,

bearrige


A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. Hannibal Lector
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
bearridge said:
... We had a cooler the size of a small coffin. It wuz plum fulla fish. I reckon we had tween 20-25 fish. I couldnt lift it. ..
I had a friend who had a 6 ton truck; he was haulin 12 ton of pigeons. Had to stop every few blocks and bang on the side of the truck to keep six tons of them in the air.

I figure if you'd filled the cooler with water, then beat on the side of it, at least half the fish would be swimming at any given time, ehh?
 

Kahuna

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2003
610
0
69
DEEP SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Big Muddy??

When you say the "Big Muddy" are you referring to the Mississippi River??
We have the Big Muddy River here that runs thru Illinois into the Mississippi.
Kahuna