with another delicious Shad or Bluegill.
She is not like me, I pick up that rod, leaning towards the back of the boat, clicker screaming out that ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ sound that we all love to hear my heart going into Maximum overdrive, turning over the handle one time and easing back that eight foot rod so that circle hook just pops right into the cheek of there mouth and tests every knot that the line is attached to.
Her's is watching and waiting, watching the tip of her six foot Rhino Rod with the Abu garcia 6500 reel that is spooled with 30 pound test line, enough weight to anchor down her cutbait or live bait on the river bottom, she just eases back and leans back into them and let's them run pulling the drag and eventually being brought to the side of the boat. You may ask yourself how does she do this, her equipment is made to handle these big brutes, her main philosiphy is to "Keep it Simple" and it works. She likes to catch cats and she likes to catch those big ones, tests the rod and reel combos out plus gives me a workout netting all her fish, and I love doing it for her.
Let's talk about netting fish, how many times have you lost a big brusier right at the boat or at the shoreline? Too many times that you don't even like to think about it Huh! I have been there and done it too. But that is what learning to fish is all about, if you take the mistakes you make and turn them into positive things you will not make that same mistake a second time.
The biggest mistake that people make when they are netting a fish is they are trying to scoop the fish from the Tail to the Head. They don't like to see that line rubbing on the hoop section of the net.
Look at how a catfish is built with all the muscles and everything that moves located behind the head, and that big tail that can propel him forward very fast with just a flick , people always try to sweep from the tail to the head and all Mr. Catfish has to do is whip that tail one time and he is out of the net and headed for the next river hole looking for another meal. Lead the fish to the net next time, make sure that his head is in front of the tail.
Channel cats are notorious about rolling over and over as you get them near that boat soon as there head feels air they go nuts thrashing about, Flatheads like to make that power dive to the river floor as soon as they feel air if you have to, keep the pressure on him and lower the tip of the pole and lead him back to the boat and bring him back another time then scoop him into the net. As you are leading him beside the boat take your net and gently lower it into the water holding the back half of the net with your other hand and put his head in the hoop first and then let go of the netting in your other hand, once his head is past the hoop if he whips his tail he goes to the bottom of the net and you have him secured . It is important to hold the bulky part of the net till his head is in the hoop, that way it won't get caught on rod holders or the anchor line or anything else that always goes wrong when your netting fish.
Lynn is great at netting, she knows how to do it very well and she brings the net right next to the side of the boat when she feels Mr. Catfish sliding to the botttom of the net.
We use a very large net, one that is built for Salmon with about a six foot reach, the hoop measures 24 inches across, never try to lift a cat in the boat using the handle. Most landing nets are not made for that type of weight or pressure to be exerted on them and they will snap when the force is too great.
Gather the netting at the top under the hoop and reach into the water and support the catfish with your hand and forearm lifting them into the boat, another way is to reach down into the Flatheads mouth while he is in the net and grab his lower jaw and lift him up and into the boat, if he starts thrashing around as you grab him by the lower jaw you can rub the top of his head and they will usually settle down, I don't advise doing this method with a very large Channel or Blue Cat you may come away with some broken fingers, it feels like a Bear trap has grabbed your hand when they clamp down, and it hurts real bad if they start thrashing around. They have those recurved teeth on the upper and lower jaws so they are not going to allow you to slip your hand out of there mouth. I like to use a glove on my hand. I use the kind that have a rubber coating on top of a cotton glove, it won't slip and you can get a firmer grip on them. Nets are hard on catfish they cut into the soft underbelly section of the catfish and the netting material wears the protective slime off there body's which protect them while they are in the water, be gentle with them.
When we are fishing Tournaments we put each fish into a burlap bag and hang it over the side of the boat, only one catfish per bag, the river water flows right thru the bag and they stay very oxygenated, they don't move around much maybe because of the cradling effect of the bag. Keep an eye on the bag, the spikes that are located on the side of there head can tear a nice hole in the burlap. This method works real well I have done it time and time again and have never lost a fish yet during a Tournament and we fish for 12 hours.
Lynn likes to use Shad and Skipjack and is very perticular about the size that she has to have on her line, she now touches the bait and baits her own hooks
I don't mind, when you have a wife that can put fish in the boat like mine I'll net her fish all day long for her.
We hook Shad in the nose section that way when they are on the bottom the tail section of them is up and the head is down and a Flathead or Channel or Bluecat will crush them to the river bottom, sometimes they will hit them so hard they knock the bait off the hook and when we land them at the boat there mouth will be full of rocks or mud depending on the river bottom.
I change the line on every reel after every Tournament we fish, oil and clean them up and check for defects on both the reel and the rods. Look at the eyes on your rods check them for grooves caused by the line wearing as it is running through the eye, check your reel seats and make sure they are tight, and above all before you start fishing check the drag settings on the reels, try to physically pull the line out of the reel while the reel is engaged, it should break free after some steady pulling if it doesn't loosen it up, these things have a tendency to freeze up after a while and having a big fish on is not the correct time to be checking the settings on the reel, I like to start out with a loose setting, I have the stardrag series on my 6500's and it is very easy to adjust it while fighting a fish.
Something else this year that we are going to do is after every big fish we will retie the hooks and the swivels, the Ohio River has a lot of gravel, rocks, concrete structures, huge trees, cars, those ever popular Zebra muzzels whose shell edges are sharp as a razor blade, not to mention they have the uncanny knack to clamp down on your line. I don't know why they do this they must like the taste of monofilament, I hate to see a cluster of these things attached to my line, but where Zebra Muzzels are there are always catfish in the area. Because we release everthing we catch the only way I know they feed on Zebra Muzzels is they sound like a Maraca when I lift them out of the water.
All of these put little nicks and cuts on the line while your fishing and the big ones will test all your knots and your hardware. All it takes is just one little nick and your gonna get that sick feeling when the rod snaps back in your face. After every fish I run my fingers up and down the line checking for nicks and abrasions, I used to run it between my lips but Lynn frowns upon that practice looking at me and silently saying "Hey Pal my lips touch those lips" so I have discontinued doing that type of line check.
We enjoy fishing, fishing gives us the time that we can enjoy our life together, something that we can share together, and enjoy each others company, we can relax and get away from everything that goes on during a week of work and family life. It gives us time to talk and enjoy the great outdoors, to see the many neat things that go on the river and the wildlife that inhabits the shore line. To watch how the weather can change in a matter of minutes, to see the stars shining in the sky and the falling stars that streak across the horizon I'm glad that my wife enjoys fishing with me, together we have learned a lot about the catfish and the waterworld that he inhabits.
