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Lincoln Beach 7/12/18
#1
Went out to Lincoln channel this morning about 6:45. No trailers, no boats in or out all morning. Aha, methinks, maybe the channel cats will be up in here without the harassment from the boats, etc. Soon I caught a 25"er on a worm/shrimp sandwich. Then I cast out again and I must have hit a cat on the nose--the bobber hadn't even settled when it went under. Only a 20"er but I was psyched now. Then it took a long time to get anything else. I did see some tiny fry swimming around the bank rocks.

Later I saw a big tail fin sticking out of the water about two feet from shore. I thought maybe a catfish was after those fry. I only had one rod in for channels with an ultralight out for white bass. Unfortunately a bullhead took the tiny bit of worm on the tiny hook; it was fairly fun on the light tackle, but then he broke my line above the bobber. I felt bad as he swam all over dragging that float.

I finally caught a little white bass. I cut it in half and hooked the front half through the snout and cast out to the middle of the channel. I'm thinking big bait/big fish, but nothing. I pulled it in and moved the bobber down so the bait hung about 18" below it. Then I started moving it in, jigging it a bit as it came. Finally I had it no more than two feet from the bank when Wham! the bobber went under with a vengeance. I let him run a bit then slowly tightened up so the circle hook could do its thing. Soon a big black channel was fighting on the surface. I played him a while not wanting to test my 25-pound mono too much; you never know, a bad knot or nicks and abrasions could lose me a good fish if I tried to horse him in. He made several runs that tested my drag but eventually he came in. I had a devil of a time getting the lip grip on him though. My 8' rod made it hard to get him close enough but I finally nabbed him. Turned out to be a big black male that went 26.5 inches. I know that that size fish is ho hum to a lot of you, but it's the biggest fish I've ever caught. He sure was ugly but he didn't seem as beat up as a lot of you have been catching lately. His mouth though looked like sometime in the past he had been eating big shards of broken glass. I cleaned him off and sent him on his way. He was slow to get going, but he seemed okay. I photo-journaled it all -- see photos below.

So those two bumped my contest score a few points and I'm happy to see that I have gotten past my goal of 75 and almost to the next goal of 77. I guess I really am catchinon.
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The older I get the more I would rather be considered a good man than a good fisherman.
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#2
Good job!!!! Those aggressive cats give a pretty good account of themselves in a tugging match.
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#3
Way to go Craig. Your Catchinon!
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#4
Nice cat! Always fun to do battle with one of those big males.

I too, was at Lincoln launch this a.m. I hit the end of the launch in search of teenage white bass just after daylight. They were there in abundance but the emerging midge hatch was the only thing they were interested in. I moved on around to Mulberry, same results.

On my way back home I passed you (or it could have been Santa Clause) about a half mile from the turn off to the launch... white Chevy truck passing white Chevy truck. I was about to turn around to spend some time trading lies with you but breakfast beckoned and I continued on home.

Glad you got out and found a nice one. Keep after 'em.

BLK
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#5
Great job Craig. I know it’s been on your list and a long time comin. Congrats on getting after it and getting some results.
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#6
I forgot to tell about how I caught the first fish. I was moving from one spot to another. I threw out the cat rig and went back for the white bass one. When I got back my bite alert was just singing; I had the rod well anchored. The line stretched way down the channel. When I started to reel in the fish surfaced about 50 yards down the channel--he was headed for Bird Island. I'm glad I got back before he spooled me. No better way to get a bite than turning your back for a minute.
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The older I get the more I would rather be considered a good man than a good fisherman.
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