Cutler night cattin'

[gmwahl]

I finally got a chance to head over to cutler to try to put a fish or two on the catfish contest scoreboard. My son and I launched the boat and met up with lavaman at around 8:30 pm to head down lake to a few favorite holes.
About a mile and a half into the boat run we came across a boat that had a seized engine. It had three teenage boys on board and one of them had just bought the boat and it was out for its maiden run. We towed them back to the boat launch and turned around for another boat run down lake.

We got to our first spot and Derek (lavaman) soon caught the first fish.....a 10" bullhead. After fishing that first spot for an hour and a half and with myself only catching one 22"-24" cat, we decided to pull up and head to another favorite hole. Once there, I quickly nailed a feisty 24" kitty and then for the next several hours it was bite after bite after bite for the three of us. we ended up with 7 in the cooler and another 3-4 released. If we would have caught all of them that got off or did the "pop and drop" we would have probably tripled that number.

The big fish of the night was a 27 1/2" mama that I caught. Problem is.......I forgot to print off my contest BFT paper and didn't realize until I was almost to the marina![mad] After discussing the situation with Derek, he suggested that we use his contest paper and he will chime in with a disclaimer that I'm the one who actually caught it and see if the contest administrator will count it for me. I guess we will find out!

Anyway, it was an absolutely beautiful, peaceful night night on the water and I had great company with my son and lavaman! The Stars were absolutely amazing and the marsh sounds were awesome. I'm really looking forward to another trip out there now.

BTW, we were fishing in about 1- 1 1/2' of water just off the main channel and used fresh cut carp meat shot earlier in the day.

The time got away from us and before we knew it the clock said 4:00 am! Time flies when you're having fun! Derek's wife is the one who reminded us of the time with a welfare check call to her hubby to see if he was still "above the sod" so we called it a night and raced back to the boat launch in total darkness except for the light from a couple of high power flashlights.....exhilarating!![cool]

I was planning to stay a little longer and then swing by Newton reservoir to sample the bass and bluegill fishing, but felt like I should get back over to Garden City due to the majority of our EMTs being out of town and the tourists flooding the town for the weekend. I had only been home for 15 minutes and had just layed down to get a few hours of sleep when my pager went off and I had to respond to a cardiac arrest. Crappy way to end an otherwise great evening/morning.[:/]

Ok Jeff, can I count this fish or do I need to try again??

Mike
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[lavaman]

Mike that was indeed a blast. So frustrating though, not being able to hook 'em properly when they were biting so lightly. I better sharpen my hooks.

Thank you for letting me tag along on your boat. It was great finally meeting you and your awesome son. He has a bright future in store. And thanks for sharing the cut bait. Those kitties sure seemed to love it.

Jeff...I vouch for my buddy Mike, that is indeed HIS catfish in the pic, although if you feel like it you can add it to my score in the contest hehee
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[gmwahl]

Thanks Derek, I'm looking forward to doing it again soon.

Mike
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Great report. Glad you got some BIG tugs too. You have my permission to count it on your score.

Don'tcha just love the lovely/spooky feeling of a marsh after dark? Sounds you never hear during the day. And the kitties seem to appreciate it too. That's the good part.

Good on ya for helpin' out the stranded boat. Sounds like a little bit of karma kicked in with the big cat. Hmmm?
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[gmwahl]

Thanks Pat.

I don't think I can even begin to explain how much I love the eerie night sounds and the peace involved with night fishing. It's absolutely gorgeous out there on a warm summer night. For those who haven't tried it I can only say that I highly recommend it! Of course, some others versions of night fishing involve burning pallets and getting loaded on beer as they party it up and wait for the stray fish......that is NOT my version and sounds like the opposite of why I like night fishing, but hey, different strokes for different folks!
No need to grease up with sunscreen either!

I was thinking I would love to have a little night fishing flotilla this summer. It would possibly introduce others to the fun and it would be interesting to see how many people would go for it. I've actually NEVER been skunked fishing on the marsh at night (hope I didn't just jinx myself[])

One down side though, I'm almost worthless today because I'm tired, but it's worth it!

Mike
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[Boatloadakids]

I've been there too and it is something you really can't describe until you have experienced it. I'd love it even if I got skunked. The only sounds are in the near distance... geese complaining about your presence... the splash of an occasional carp (or was it some other monster fish?), and the howl of a coyote somewhere in the tamarisk and willows on shore and maybe the occasional whine of a skeeter in your ear. It just doesn't get any better.

Nice report guys. Sounds like you had a great time. Now with regard to that fish.... I say allow it but dock the catcher 5 inches in length. []

Hey, I messed up once and forgot to include my logo and Jeff was merciful enough to allow the entry. I say he will let it in... as it should be.

There are bigger ones out there and plenty of time so I expect that 27 incher to be bumped before too long anyway.

Again, well done!

Lynn aka BLK
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[r2u2]

Now you've done it. Brought back old memories. As a teenager, I truly enjoyed going out to the wet lands at night, specifically to listen to the sounds of the birds, frogs and who knows what else. I never fished out there, but it wasn't Cutler either.

Thanks for the memories and report.

I drove up to Cutler this morning to get my wife out of the house for awhile.
While there I kept wondering about going back with the yak for another try.

Thanks again,
Richard
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Yea, verily. Casting thy lines upon the waters in the darkness can be a truly religious experience. Even more so when you are the only HUMAN in the known universe. Skeeters and noisy night critters don't count.

I used to fish at night a LOT. Started when I lived in California...night fishing from the piers for sharks, rays and even a few "righteous" fish. Carried it over to fresh water night fishing...for walleyes, crappies, white bass, largemouth bass and cats. It is amazing how many species come out to play after dark. Even trout. But they are silly. They don't count.

I have dialed it down on night fishing in recent years. Mostly because my years have been dialing up and my stamina has been going the other way. Even day trips take me a couple of days to recover. Of course a large part of that is that I still get excited about an upcoming fishing trip and do not sleep as soundly...fearing that my alarm will not go off in time for my self-scheduled daybreaker. So I usually just get up an hour before the alarm has been set..."just in case". If it weren't for "senior snoozes" (naps) I would have expired long ago.

Oh yeah, then there are the skeeters. Not a big fan of smelling like DEET (or worse) and even less of a fan of getting West Nile Virus...or Zika. Wouldn't want that the next time I get pregnant.

I still have many fond memories of former night excursions. They are only a few of the things I miss from the past.




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[gmwahl]

Interesting Pat how quite a few people mention the skeeters, but I must be the luckiest guy out there. I have never had an issue with the skeeters at night if I'm out on a boat. From shore I've been plagued by the little buggers, but for some reason, for me, they've just never been much of a problem after dark on a boat..........unless I went to Willard!

One of my favorite night fishing trips is on the green river below the gorge dam. I've caught some absolute monsters down there on rapalas after the marauding armies of floaters and fisherman have sensibly called it a day. Same with trout fishing the boat launch areas around the gorge at night, it can just be too easy.

Another virtue of night fishing in summer is that because I'm a second generation Swede, I melt in the daytime heat even in the shade, so night fishing just feels soooo much better to me. Maybe I'm a vampire, who knows!

Mike
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[lavaman]

Ha!
Maybe a fish-slaying vampire!! You just put a hurting on those kitties, Mike! Fun fishing with you finally!
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[TubeDude]

"Maybe I'm a vampire, who knows!"

[#0000FF]There you have it. The reason the skeeters don't bother you as much. A fellow blood-sucker.

Kinda like why sharks won't eat lawyers. Professional courtesy.[/#0000FF]
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[SkunkedAgain]

Hey Mike and Derek, guess I was out that night as well, except I was sitting on the tractor punching out bales... was a pretty night though... I was wondering how your trip turned out, glad you did a report... By the way, thanks for rescuing my nephew, guess there was a reason he got that boat for cheap... Turned out to be something electrical and it started and ran fine after a little messing around with the wires... Guess I need to teach him not to run clear down river in a questionable boat... Glad you were there to pull him out... He told me the fire department rescued him, I suspected it must have been you... Thanks....

As far as the fish goes, I'll count it when I update the scores... nice fish... So was the good spot where you nailed that 32" two years ago? If I can find time between camps and farming, I'd love to join in on your next night trip... Will bring my boat as well, have it almost night cattin ready... Catch ya later J
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[gmwahl]

So that was your nephew huh? Funny thing, I didn't know it was his boat so I asked them if they were going to have a mad dad after it was all said and done. He said that he bought the boat, but that, yea, he would still probably have a mad dad! Seemed like good kids. I'm glad we were able to help them out.

So I guess I'll post on the contest board then. I just wanted to make sure first if it was alright. I never tried the 32" cat spot. I stayed out on the main reservoir and fished the flats next to the channel.

I'll be sure to give a heads up next trip so that you can go too. It would be fun to find a few additional new spots as well and then put a quick little night flotilla together and turn others loose on the additional spots.

Thanks for counting the fish!

Mike
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[gaardvark]

I took my boys out on Cutler Friday as well. We launched from Valley View at about 5 PM, and floated/paddled down to Benson, fishing most of the way. A nice 5 hour float.
We only caught two fish between us, both right at sundown. My younger son wanted to fish at night, but as soon as it started getting dark, he suggested we complete the trip as quickly as possible and go home to play computer games. He is 12 and the women were out of town. We had a fun night, and he filleted his own fish, though he needs more practice. I would like to have stayed for more of the night, but this has been filed under the heading of "Only stay as long as the kids are having fun". I think it was a good decision, as he asked yesterday if I could take today off from work and go again.
Now if I could just figure out where the channel and flats are in the south portion of the lake, I would be in good shape.
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[gmwahl]

In that south end maze, just use your oar to gauge he depth. If the water goes from deeper to shallow flats then that would be a good spot to night fish, right on the shallow side of that water depth change. The kitties will hunt those flats after dark. Don't overlook the spawning carp either. Many good sized cats will get right in the mix of them and they aren't usually picky either. Though they may be hoping to slurp carp eggs, they will pounce on a good piece is cut carp just as well.

Hope you're able to get out again with your boys soon!

Mike
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[TNA]

Was that u on the big pontoon? I was out there with my wife and kids but they wanted to go back before it got to late. I think a night flotilla sounds fun. I m already out there most weekends and usually have room for an extra in the boat. It would be fun to actually meet a few more bft members while helping out the north retake the title. Pm me when u r ready to set something up. I would love to join u guys out there.
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[lavaman]

TNA! Yep that was us on Mike's pontoon boat. I'm ready for a bunch of us to go gang up on the kitties.

Awesome you're out there most weekends. I TRY to be...doesn't always happen. Life tends to get in the way, as Jeff and Mike can both attest.

Let's go slay some Cats!
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[gaardvark]

I am in as well!
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[gmwahl]

Ya, that was me. Were you the one about 400 yards south of us? Also, how well did you do?

Mike
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[gmwahl]

Sounds like there is some interest so we will need to make it happen soon then. I'll post a new thread on it in a few days.

Mike
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