“Neither Rain Nor Wind Shall Stop Me From My Appointed Fishing!”

After working all day long on the computer, my mind was mush by about 4:30 PM.  Decided to do a quick rain check, and, while it was quite cloudy and breezy, it was not raining.  Seemed like a good time to try for some more channel cats!  Brought out the usual gear, except I also took my rain suit and some prepped field corn to chum a bit.

I decided to try a different spot from the little point I’ve been favoring of late.  A large, open area 50 yards down and to the right from the house.  My first job was to pull up the multitudinous two-foot grass stalks growing near the edge.  After a few minutes, I had cleared about a three-foot section of bank for fishing.  Then I threw out a half-dozen handfuls of prepped deer corn to get the fish activated and, hopefully, feeding!

I spent the next hour or so casting golf ball-sized (or a little larger) elastic cloth bags of chicken livers upwind, then watching as they were gradually blown from left to right.  I tried fishing them about three feet deep out in the middle, and I tried fishing them two feet deep closer in to shore.  I did get some dinks and bobs, and a few half-hearted takes, all of which I suspect were turtles pecking away at the sacks of liver, as I never hooked anything on any of my hook sets.

While fishing in closer (and shallower), I got what looked like a real (fishy) take.  I set the hook and immediately suspected a large snapping turtle had taken the bait.  Sure enough, I had hooked a good 15 to 20 pounder.  I quickly netted it, then cut the line as close to its head as I dared—of course, with its head somewhat bound up in the net for safety.   Plopped it back into its watery home, then decided to change things up.

Since I had to tie on another hook anyway, I decided to switch to a #6 treble hook (my go-to for channel cats when fishing punch bait) and start fishing punch bait about a foot deep and closer (5-10’) to shore.  My first cast produced my first real take of the day, and, after a nice battle, I netted the nicest channel cat I’ve caught in a while—a tad under 3 and-a-half pounds!  Snapped a couple pix, released him, and got my baited line back in the water.

I continued fishing a foot deep and close to shore, and it proved to be a more successful strategy.  I ended up hooking five channel cats and banking four—one dropped off as I was lifting it from the water.  When they are smaller than a pound, I usually don’t bother with the net; I just gently lift them out.

By staying continually attentive to my float and quickly striking on any take, I was able to avoid gut-hooking any fish.  All were hooked in the side of the mouth and the hook was relatively easy to remove with a pair of needle-nose pliers that I keep in my tackle box for that purpose.

I probably fished until about 8 PM—a good 45 minutes into darkness—with the aid of three strategically placed 1/8” silicone bands holding a 2” glow stick to the float’s top stem.  The bite was pretty good; I was getting a fish every cast.  Of course, sometimes I’d have to wait 5-10 minutes for a take, but I was happy with the pace of the action.

My night of catfishing fun ended abruptly when a bad bird’s nest developed near my reel after a cast.  Unfortunately, it could not be untangled without cutting the line.  Having done so, and having retrieved my rig out of the water by hand-winding, it was time to quit for the evening.

My rain suit did come in handy.  Not a half-hour into my sortie, it started to drizzle lightly, then a little more heavily—heavy enough to don my rain pants and jacket.  The rain proved to be intermittent during my entire time out, but I was glad nonetheless for the protection.

Still seeking that elusive 12-pound trophy channel cat.  I guess I’ll just have to keep at it and keep trying new spots until he/she eventually happens across my bait!