06-29-2003, 12:27 AM
[cool][size 1]Since Saturday was to be my mother's 85th birthday, we thought we would sneak away for a Friday afternoon fishing trip and devote Saturday to Mom. Actually, we have found that afternoons before the weekend are better than trying to deal with the idiots and the power squadron on weekend mornings.
As we arrived at Saguaro Lake, about 11:30 AM, we wondered if we had thought things through well enough. There were very few people in our favorite fishing area...but that was probably because it was 108 DEGREES. But, as they say in hell, "it's a nice dry heat".
We slathered on the sunscreen and loaded up our coolers full of ice water, to tuck into the storage areas behind the seats on our Fat Cats. We were ready to drink all that water by the end of our short hike to the launch area from the car. Sweat city already.
The water temp near the beach was over 90 degrees where we launched, but quickly dropped to about 83 degrees out where we began fishing, in 15 feet of water...just past the buoy line. The clarity was good and I began with a little "flathead" rainbow baitbug...tipped with a bit of fish flesh.
There were no willing takers in one of our normally productive spots, so I prospected my way over to another area. Bang, Bang. Two quick yellow bass. Used the walkie talkie to advise TubeBabe I had found some fish. She motored over and she dinged a couple. Then they moved out and we were back to prospecting.
About 45 minutes after we had launched, I had a tap tap I thought might be a bluegill. I shivver lifted the jig to finesse a chomp and I got one. But it was a nice 3# channel cat, rather than a bluegill. That stretched the kinks out of my string and got a
going...except not on TubeBabe.
A few minutes later, I asked TubeBabe a question on the walkie talkie and she curtly informed me that she was busy...with a "snag that moves"...our term for a stubborn catfish. A few minutes later I heard a wail of anguish as she lost the fish to an unseen water hazard that had snipped her line. We were optimistic that there would be more opportunities, since we had started off so well.
We both picked up an occasional yellow bass, including a couple of dandies that voted for TubeBabe's jig. In fact, she caught the largest yellow of the day...about a pound.
![[Image: SCOU1712CustomImage2405942.jpg]](http://web.ecomplanet.com/SCOU1712/ServerContent/MyCustomImages/SCOU1712CustomImage2405942.jpg)
Note the new BFT hat and the BFT sticker on the front of the Fat Cat. She is also wearing a BFT shirt, but the logo is covered by her vest. Also note the death grip on the fish. She wasn't about to let it escape the scampi pan.
Before we had been on the water an hour, I caught a second channel cat, about the same size as the first. Fun, fun. TubeBabe would have preferred that she caught it, but shed...through clenched teeth.
Then, another light strike turned into a heavy fish when I set the hook. It felt heavier and heavier and then took off on a screaming run toward shore and into a big mat of underwater weed growth. I had the drag on my little Shimano baitcaster as tight as I dared set it for the 6# line I was using. The big fish pretty much did what he wanted. I was thinking maybe a big flathead cat. I have taken some big ones on light tackle here.
At one point, I felt the mushy solid resistance that told me the fish had burrowed into the weeds. I kept the rod arched and let the abrasion resistant Excalibur line do its work. It has mowed some serious grass for me before, and it came through again. I finally felt a direct connection to the fish again and it moved back out toward deeper water. I had to keep pulling long strings of weeds off my line as I worked the fish closer.
When the fish got within about twenty feet, it came up and swirled on the surface, and I saw what it was and how big it was. See the pic below.
![[Image: SCOU1712CustomImage2417573.jpg]](http://web.ecomplanet.com/SCOU1712/ServerContent/MyCustomImages/SCOU1712CustomImage2417573.jpg)
Yep, that's a buglemouth. I still say they are much maligned and underrated as a tough gamefish. Note my new white BFT hat, and the logo on my Fat Cat...on my right side. I am also wearing a new BFT shirt, and attached a sticker to my chest pouch. BFT all the way.
For an hour or so, we got into a few small groups of yellow bass. I had several strings of five to ten in as many casts. Most went back into the water, but we kept a dozen or so for the pan. I also caught one more channel cat of about the same size as the first two. TubeBabe had one more cat hooked for "three shakes", and then it was gone.
About 4 in the afternoon, the boat traffic and the activity at the swim beach increased as more and more people hit the lake after work. The fishing reflected the increasing noise commotion. We could have headed home at 4 and not missed much. We stayed until 6, and it was 110 degrees as we loaded our gear back in the car for the trip home.
![[Image: SCOU1712CustomImage2429687.jpg]](http://web.ecomplanet.com/SCOU1712/ServerContent/MyCustomImages/SCOU1712CustomImage2429687.jpg)
The makin's for scampi and "kitty krispies". The cats we usually catch are generally bigger...from 5 to 10 pounds. We consider these to be the ideal size for filleting and eating. (These were the fish I used for the pictorial on filleting catfish)[/size]
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As we arrived at Saguaro Lake, about 11:30 AM, we wondered if we had thought things through well enough. There were very few people in our favorite fishing area...but that was probably because it was 108 DEGREES. But, as they say in hell, "it's a nice dry heat".
We slathered on the sunscreen and loaded up our coolers full of ice water, to tuck into the storage areas behind the seats on our Fat Cats. We were ready to drink all that water by the end of our short hike to the launch area from the car. Sweat city already.
The water temp near the beach was over 90 degrees where we launched, but quickly dropped to about 83 degrees out where we began fishing, in 15 feet of water...just past the buoy line. The clarity was good and I began with a little "flathead" rainbow baitbug...tipped with a bit of fish flesh.
There were no willing takers in one of our normally productive spots, so I prospected my way over to another area. Bang, Bang. Two quick yellow bass. Used the walkie talkie to advise TubeBabe I had found some fish. She motored over and she dinged a couple. Then they moved out and we were back to prospecting.
About 45 minutes after we had launched, I had a tap tap I thought might be a bluegill. I shivver lifted the jig to finesse a chomp and I got one. But it was a nice 3# channel cat, rather than a bluegill. That stretched the kinks out of my string and got a
going...except not on TubeBabe. A few minutes later, I asked TubeBabe a question on the walkie talkie and she curtly informed me that she was busy...with a "snag that moves"...our term for a stubborn catfish. A few minutes later I heard a wail of anguish as she lost the fish to an unseen water hazard that had snipped her line. We were optimistic that there would be more opportunities, since we had started off so well.
We both picked up an occasional yellow bass, including a couple of dandies that voted for TubeBabe's jig. In fact, she caught the largest yellow of the day...about a pound.
Note the new BFT hat and the BFT sticker on the front of the Fat Cat. She is also wearing a BFT shirt, but the logo is covered by her vest. Also note the death grip on the fish. She wasn't about to let it escape the scampi pan.
Before we had been on the water an hour, I caught a second channel cat, about the same size as the first. Fun, fun. TubeBabe would have preferred that she caught it, but she
d...through clenched teeth. Then, another light strike turned into a heavy fish when I set the hook. It felt heavier and heavier and then took off on a screaming run toward shore and into a big mat of underwater weed growth. I had the drag on my little Shimano baitcaster as tight as I dared set it for the 6# line I was using. The big fish pretty much did what he wanted. I was thinking maybe a big flathead cat. I have taken some big ones on light tackle here.
At one point, I felt the mushy solid resistance that told me the fish had burrowed into the weeds. I kept the rod arched and let the abrasion resistant Excalibur line do its work. It has mowed some serious grass for me before, and it came through again. I finally felt a direct connection to the fish again and it moved back out toward deeper water. I had to keep pulling long strings of weeds off my line as I worked the fish closer.
When the fish got within about twenty feet, it came up and swirled on the surface, and I saw what it was and how big it was. See the pic below.
Yep, that's a buglemouth. I still say they are much maligned and underrated as a tough gamefish. Note my new white BFT hat, and the logo on my Fat Cat...on my right side. I am also wearing a new BFT shirt, and attached a sticker to my chest pouch. BFT all the way.
For an hour or so, we got into a few small groups of yellow bass. I had several strings of five to ten in as many casts. Most went back into the water, but we kept a dozen or so for the pan. I also caught one more channel cat of about the same size as the first two. TubeBabe had one more cat hooked for "three shakes", and then it was gone.
About 4 in the afternoon, the boat traffic and the activity at the swim beach increased as more and more people hit the lake after work. The fishing reflected the increasing noise commotion. We could have headed home at 4 and not missed much. We stayed until 6, and it was 110 degrees as we loaded our gear back in the car for the trip home.
The makin's for scampi and "kitty krispies". The cats we usually catch are generally bigger...from 5 to 10 pounds. We consider these to be the ideal size for filleting and eating. (These were the fish I used for the pictorial on filleting catfish)[/size]
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