Harrison Bluffs Catfishing - 8/29

[Liveliner]

I got the chance to go so I went catfishing today. I was limited to getting there late (9:00AM) due to dropping my son off at school. I lost count on the numbers that I caught. They were turned on this morning but as usual, they went on break at lunch time. I released all the smaller ones and kept the ones 10 - 12#. I think I have about eight in my bait tank with a jug of ice in there. I am on a Coffee Break right now before I start cleaning the fish.
The bait of choice today was those cheap red hotdogs. They got hit by all the bigger fish. In fact all but one of the ones that I kept were caught on those "Gaultney" weiners. I could not get a bite on Chicken. I caught one good one on cut bluegill and a bunch of small ones on Chicken liver.
I lost several good ones and one that ran like an atomic Sub. It was plowing down the river and I could not turn it. After about 20 yds the hook pulled out. That fish would have put my name on the board for sure. For that big fish, I was using a skipjack head on my grouper rod with 85# Power-pro. I had the power, the hook just did not hold.

I'll post the pic later.

Did not see any members that I knew.

 

[MrWiskers]

Liveliner - 8/29/2006 5:18 PM

Did not see any members that I knew.

We are all working.emoPoke

 

[Buoy-Master]

</p>

I'm wanting to go today but i have NO IDEA how much homework the kiddos have yet. Sounds like a good morning LV</p>

 

[flip1up]

Sounds like a great day you had there Liveliner. I was trying to get away from work today to go fishing too, but no such luck.

 

[Guest]

Good deal there LL. I must be part catfish too 'cause I love cheap hotdogs. Actually although you can't tell by looking I like most everythingemoLaugh
Great report.

Cheez

 

[polo-dog]

Great report Liveliner! I'm looking forward to those pics. Were you anchored or drifting? How deep were you fishing? Were you on a breakline or in the river channel?

 

[Fat Albert]

cheez - 8/29/2006 6:25 PM

I must be part catfish too 'cause I love cheap hotdogs. Actually although you can't tell by looking I like most Great report.


I wasn't going to say anything but I thought I had to add my .02 worth... me and you are in the same boat. If it smells good we are going to eat. Even if it is moving...LOL love ya man

emoLaugh emoLaugh

 

[Liveliner]

Well I weighed them and they were not 10 - 12#. Man they look a lot bigger when you lift them into the boat. I ended up with Seven that I kept that weighed from 6 - 9#. They are going to be dinner several times this week.
[img=http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e96/423902/Catfish8-292.jpg]

 

[rsimms]

Takes a heck of a fisherman to catch himself in his own lie. emoLaugh Great catch... even the truth!

 

[Liveliner]

I have a question for some of you guys that keep and clean catfish. When I was dressing the fish that I caught today, I noticed that one of the catfish had meat that was more red throughout. It was more than the red on the sides. The flesh also had a strong smell about it. Sorry to waste that fish but I was not going to eat that one. The rest of the fish were all clean white meat with no strong smell. I did clean that fish seperately and fried it and fed it to my pups rather than wasting it totally.
Have any of you folks ever had a catfish who's meat was red and strong smelling? What would you do with the fish when you cut it and found the red?
It was a Blue cat just like the others.

 

[Guest]

LL we clean a lot of fish every year but have not seen a blue with red all the way through. Some are more bloody than others but that always washes out. Channels are a different story. There is much more waste on them because of the off color so we usually release them. If it doesn't look right when cleaning, I feed to the critters too.

Cheez

 

[Guest]

Hey LL what did you do with the Cabelas fish gripper you won @ the picnic? The scales on those things are pretty accurate. Drumking checked some fish that I weighed against his digital scale and it was real close. They just don't weigh in increments less than a pound so you have to round the number up

Cheez

 

[drumking]

Liveliner - 8/30/2006 12:41 AM

I have a question for some of you guys that keep and clean catfish. When I was dressing the fish that I caught today, I noticed that one of the catfish had meat that was more red throughout. It was more than the red on the sides. The flesh also had a strong smell about it. Sorry to waste that fish but I was not going to eat that one. The rest of the fish were all clean white meat with no strong smell. I did clean that fish seperately and fried it and fed it to my pups rather than wasting it totally.
Have any of you folks ever had a catfish who's meat was red and strong smelling? What would you do with the fish when you cut it and found the red?
It was a Blue cat just like the others.

For those fish that you like to keep occasionally try cutting through the spine at the base of the tail and letting the fish bleed out for about 30 minutes before filleting them. Eliminates most of the blood. The fillets will really be white in the blues. The channels are naturally darker in color, but I don't keep channels very often. Just sometimes.

LL, I haven't noticed a bluecat with a red color and smell before. Maybe the fish was just embarassed about being caught or madder than h#@*.emoGeezer Have you ever smacked yourself on the forehead with the palm of your hand and muttered "dumb, dumb, dumb"?emoBang emoDoh

 

[TennesseeTalker]

Nice fish there Liveliner!!! Sounds like you and the pups had a good dinner! My girls had catfish on Sunday for the first time in their lives .. they went nuts!!! I didn't know dogs liked fish! I should have, lots of times when I take them swimming at the lake, the littlest one runs and finds a dead fish carcass to roll around in. hahahaha

Good job with your trip .. nice post.

TT

 

[Fishing machine]

Sounds like you had a good trip, too bad your big fish came unbutton.

 

[Bprice]

Thats a fine looking mess of catfish Liveliner!

Most folks skin their cats first, but I just fillet them as I would a crappie, bass or sauger. Seems to work just fine. Of course an electric fillet knife helps that out alot. Most cats I've had under 10 lbs (especially blues and flats) there is very little red meat in them, if so, i just trim them off. I then will soak them in salty water for a few hours, and that will draw whatever redness out. Keep it in their too long and it will toughen the meat.

This is just how I do it, and I am a sure there are several different ways to a greasey fried catfish smile! emoSmile

 

[Liveliner]

TT your report the other day of you treating the girls to a little catfish is what gave me the idea to let my pups have it. Yeah, they sure did like it.

The red meat was not blood that needed to be drained. The meat itself was red throughout.

I have the art of cleaning fish down pat, as they say, whereas I get all the good meat with minimal waste. I know a few tricks that makes cleaning a catfish much more simple.

Drumking, After thinking about it, you could be right about that cat turning red from embarrassment. When I pulled it's pants down is when I first noticed the red color LOL

 

[Guest]

TennesseeTalker - 8/30/2006 8:27 AM

Nice fish there Liveliner!!! Sounds like you and the pups had a good dinner! My girls had catfish on Sunday for the first time in their lives .. they went nuts!!! I didn't know dogs liked fish! I should have, lots of times when I take them swimming at the lake, the littlest one runs and finds a dead fish carcass to roll around in. hahahaha

Good job with your trip .. nice post.

TT

TT I reckon most dogs like fish. I once left (forgetfully) a five gallon bucket full of crappie carcasses where I cleaned them. My big dogs pollished the whole bucket off overnight with no trace. I mean skin,guts,heads backbones and all! I always heard not to feed fish bones to dogs but it didn't hurt either of mine. I wouldn't reccomend it but my point is that dogs love fish. When the boat comes rolling in they now come running waiting for a treat.

Cheez