EricM, Chick, Flathead cat, 10/03/16 - Printable Version +- Fishing Forum (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum) +-- Forum: Tennessee Fishing Forum (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=384) +--- Forum: Tennessee Fishing General (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=56) +--- Thread: EricM, Chick, Flathead cat, 10/03/16 (/showthread.php?tid=990499)

EricM, Chick, Flathead cat, 10/03/16 - FishNews - 10-04-2016 Well, that kinda hurts. I haven't posted a fishing report for months and nobody noticed (maybe they just didn't care). <br /><br />I have finished most of the crap that was involved with building a new house "near" the river in Harrison and getting the garage and yard going and even fixing up the boat that has been so badly neglected for about a year. Now I'm BACK to torture you with my fishing/disaster reports.<br /><br />I loaded up and drove the NOW seven-tenths (0.7) of a mile to the Skull Island ramp. Used to be 25 miles from home. What a change! Now fishing for an hour or two is no problem! I went down to the nuke area and used skipjack to try for cat fish. It was very slow there this morning. I caught my third small fish, a 10 inch baby blue cat. I went to pick it up to release it when it flopped just right - or just wrong. HOLY CRAP!!!!!<br /><br />It drove its side fin into the bottom joint of my left index finger where it meets the palm - about a foot deep. I screamed like a girl and danced the bunny hop, the hokey-pokey, the twist, and a Zulu war dance all at the same time. It actually stuck in the joint/tendon/nerve and I had to shake the #$!& thing off, which flung it over the side of the boat. I have never felt such intense, acute pain in my life. I got light-headed and even retched a few times (shock). The whole time I was squealing like a pig, bleeding all over the boat, and thinking BAD words. Well, if I wasn't just thinking them, at least no one was around to hear them. Kind of a shame to waste that much colorful language on fish that just don't care.......<br /><br />6 hours later, the outside half of the left index finger is still numb from the tip to the second joint. No feeling whatsoever. Must have damaged the nerve pretty badly. The tendon where the spine hung up is pretty touchy, but it's the nerve damage that scares me. Poop.<br /><br />Of course, I just had to make another couple of drifts. The pain was going to be there anyway, sooooooo......<br /><br />Big fish on! Not big enough to make me forget the pain, but better than an aspirin!! I was, of course, using my 6 pound test and got a really nice fight from the fish. I was a bit surprised to see that it was a 27 pound flathead cat! Nice way to end another fishing trip.<br /><br />Here is the poor, miserable, wounded warrior with his latest:<br /><br /><br />