Fishing Forum

My sister sent me these pics and a little story with it.

[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"A TRUE FISH STORY"[/size][/black][/font][font "Verdana"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Verdana"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font][font "Arial"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font][font "Arial"][black][size 2]

[/size][/black][/font][font "Tahoma"][black]This was a pretty interesting story from "The Sunday Wichita Kansas Eagle"[/black][/font][font "Verdana"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Tahoma"][black][size 3]Newspaper a couple of weeks ago. A resident in the area saw a ball bouncing[/size][/black][/font][font "Verdana"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Tahoma"][black][size 3]around kind of strange in a nearby pond and went to investigate. It turned out[/size][/black][/font][font "Verdana"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Tahoma"][black][size 3]to be a flathead catfish who had obviously tried to swallow a child's basketball[/size][/black][/font][font "Verdana"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Tahoma"][black][size 3]which became stuck in its mouth!! [/size][/black][/font][font "Tahoma"][black]

The fish was totally exhausted from trying to dive, but unable to because the[/black][/font][font "Verdana"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Tahoma"][black][size 3]ball would always bring him back up to the surface. The resident tried numerous[/size][/black][/font][font "Verdana"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Tahoma"][black][size 3]times to get the ball out, but was unsuccessful. He finally had his wife cut the ball[/size][/black][/font][font "Verdana"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Tahoma"][black][size 3]in order to deflate it and release the hungry catfish. [/size][/black][/font][font "Tahoma"][black]

You may not have believed this, if you hadn't seen the following pictures...[/black][/font][font "Tahoma"][black][size 2] [/size][/black][/font]

[inline "catfish5 248x187.jpg"]
[inline "catfish4 248x187.jpg"]

[inline "catfish3 248x187.jpg"]
[inline "catfish2 248x187.jpg"]
[inline "catfish 248x187.jpg"]
[font "Arial"][black]"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."[/black][/font][font "Verdana"][black][size 2][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Verdana"][black][size 1]

[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3][/size][/font]
[signature]

You might want to uncheck the inline box . That way we all can see it.By the way did you make it to lincoln today?
[signature]

I had to make the pics smaller when I viewed the post they looked lifesize[shocked] I'm going to the pond tomorrow, I took my girls and my flypole and went to catch bait today. I'll tell you what, those flyfisherman must go through heck trying to tie on some of those tiny flies in the middle of the river.
[signature]

What kinda bait were you after in the river? guess it was the provo right?Did you catch any? Man i am need of getting some fresh bait very soon.You are gonna have to share your secret spot dude!![]
[signature]

It wasn't the Provo, I can only catch dumb fish on a fly rod, give me a senko and then we'll talk.[]
[signature]

[cool][#0000ff]That story and pictorial has been making the rounds for over a year. I think we have had it on this board at least two or three times. It is still entertaining.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Those flatheads are truly aggressive and predatory. I have caught them with whole fish of several pounds in their gut. When they take up residence in a small lake or a landlocked oxbow on a river, they soon clean out all the other fish, of any size.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]One thing that makes flatheads different than channels or most other cats is that they prefer live food. Whole sunfish are usually the bait of choice, but small carp, suckers or other fish work fine too. They also hit big lures. Down in Arizona a lot of bassers get the fight of their lives when a big ol' flathead chomps a prize crankbait.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

My brother caught a nice cat out of the Jordan River with a Sour Patch Kid. I don't know why he was using a sour patch kid as bait, but he was, and he did.

[inline sourpatch.gif]

I don't know what flavor it was...nightcrawler?



lurechucker
[signature]

[cool][#0000ff]No surprise there. Cats like the artificial fruity flavors in a lot of the soft and chewy candies. Cat chasers use them in several parts of the country.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have fished cats all over the U.S. of A. and I have long ago ceased to be surprised at anything someone has successfully used to catch cats. They eat anything...animal, vegetable or mineral...live, dead, ripe or extinct.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The one thing that most of us cataholics seem to arrive at though, is that we catch more and bigger fish on fresh bait, especially if it is a natural bait in their environment. A good example is carp meat. In lakes where carp are prevalent, and a part of the diet, carp meat works well. Take it to another lake, where there are no carp, and it is often not nearly as effective as minnows or cut bait from one of the natural species in that lake.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

I read an article last summer about catfishing with fruit, eating your bait and your fish, how could you go wrong?
[signature]

[cool][#0000ff]I have seen places in the southeast where mulberry trees hang over the water and drop their ripe fruit. Catfish congregate and feed on the dropped fruit, and anglers who know how to rig and present a ripe berry on a hook can catch a bunch. But, again, these are usually not the biggest fish around. I have also heard of guys that tie berry pattern flies and catch both carp and catfish on them. Ain't that the berries.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have also heard of catmen using chunks of peach, banana, mango and other sweet fruits for bait. I guess some of them are trying to eat healthier.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The 6 pound cat I caught at Lincoln Beach a couple of weeks ago had a large stomach. When I did my CSI on it, the bulge turned out to be a "mostly digested" white bass. I guarantee you that did not smell like anything sweet. Retch, retch.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]One of the larger cats I ever caught at Willard Bay, a few years ago, right after ice out, had a big gut too. The contents turned out to be just the head and neck of a merganser (fish eating duck). [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]One of the more humorous "findings" was a cat with a tummy full of chicken thigh bones. I caught it near the bubble up. I later talked to one of the boaters that had been out there on the same day and he admitted to scarfing a bucket of chicken thighs and tossing the bones over the side.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Regular or crispy?[/#0000ff]
[signature]

I've had several surprises while playing surgery on stomachs, I've seen a rubber glove and a pair of sunglasses in channel cat out of the Jordan River. I don't even want to know about that.
In my "more willing to break the law days" I snuck into a golf course at night to catfish, it had cigarette butts in it's stomach. Talk about a nasty habit.
[signature]

[cool][#0000ff]Yeah, them butts will kill ya.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#ff4040]My brother told me that one time in California he witnessed a cat come up and scarf a baby duckling. He said that was the greatest things he has ever seen while fishing. [/#ff4040][/font]
[signature]

[reply]

[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The one thing that most of us cataholics seem to arrive at though, is that we catch more and bigger fish on fresh bait, especially if it is a natural bait in their environment.
[/#0000ff][/reply]

Haha! I read that as "most of us catholics seem to arrive at...". I couldn't figure out why Catholics would zone in on fresh bait tactics better than, say, Episcopalians.

Had to read it three times before I figured out you said cat-a-holics.

Of course, catholicism and kitty-chasing could both be considered religion by some.

And now back to our regular programming.



lurechucker
[signature]

[cool][#0000ff]I don't care who you are (or what religion), that's funny. I sometimes type faster than I think (evidently). It didn't even occur to me that a quick visual scan might read as Catholics, not cat-a-holics. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I find myself doing that all the time. I read a headline or billboard at a glance and sometimes see words that shouldn't be there. Funny how our subconscious fills in the blanks.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Not sure about fishing being classified as a religion. Maybe a strange cult...or even an addiction...but not sure about religion. Now I gotta run. I'll be late for my CAT-ECHISM. I want to be sure to sit in my favorite PEW. Gonna BAPTIZE some bait and FELLOWSHIP with some fishies. Hallelujah!!![/#0000ff]
[signature]