Gene's Fishn Stories 4

Gene’s Fishn Stories 4

Troy's Fishing ........

He is catching more fish than we can eat. It's a good deal as it's good for a person to have a hobby that can occupy his spare time.

I think he was there this year when the guy caught the new state record for crappie in Iowa ..... 6 lbs, etc.

That will be an inducement ..... and tying into theses things every once in awhile.

I don't know what the deal is but this is the second one they have brought in this year.

This 'flathead' was the biggest, right at 30 lbs.

We don't eat the catfish and if they can't find someone who wants them, they have been returning them to a waterway somewhere.

It's interesting in that my father and his buddies fished around here (Chariton River) all their lives and never caught anything like this on a hand rig.

They took some big ones on trot lines or 'night poles' but even then, not as big as this one.

Then just prior to this one he caught a pretty respectable flathead catfish which is seen just below below.

Just goin' to town. We'll have to put some brakes on that boy!

Chad's Catfish .....

Now, Talk about catfish ...... my brother John visited our cousin's family down in Missouri and did some fishing with them. They generally fish the Grande river but have lately taken to the Missouri River. They caught some and among them was this monster which weighed in at 83 lbs.

John brought the pictures over so we could see them. He says they were fishing in the Miami area in the center of the state on the big muddy.

The guy holding the fish is named Chad and is the son of our first cousin both of whom live in that general area. I didn't get the details so not sure of their fishing methods but I think they were using trotlines and using bullhead catfish for bait.

I doubt we have very many fish like that around here. When they get that big, I think they take off for the deeper water of the Missouri River which our little Chariton River empties into not far east of Miami, MO.

Hybrid White Bass

Well here he is and he's done it again! This time with a nice white bass Troy took from Rathbun Lake.

I didn't know they had come up with the hybrid deal in the lake. I had caught some of the regular white bass in the outlet. They struck red plastic beetle on leadhead. Hit hard too. And was nice fish to catch. Not nearly as big as the one he has though.

I don't know what he used to get it and will find out and hopefully get the info in here.

Don't know what we are going to do with this boy - he's already one of the best fishermen around here.

He's caught about everything in the lake excepting the hybrid northern pike/musky they put in there some years back.

Spot-tailed Redfish

I have an Army buddy, Jerry Watson, down by Houston, TX who sent me some pictures of the fish he was catching there. He is a native of the Huston area so the fishing comes normal.

The fish he's showing here are Spot-tail Redfish and he says they are good eating. They have a spot on their tail and a dorsal fin arrangement that indicates they are of the Perch family of fishes, so they must be good eating.

They have a good size, about right for filleting.

Jerry says they spend their time out to sea but come in close to spawn. Not all the way in but they lay their eggs offshore and they drift in. I think most fishing occurs about that time.

Jerry says he has a fishing spot down by Port O'Connor south of Huston and that he goes there to do most of his fishing.

I can understand why - with fish like that, I'd like it, too!

It appears from the fishing rig that he's fishing with a "bobber" and looks like some kind of lure representing a minnow down two or three feet from the bobber.

Whatever he's using, "we'd have to do as he does" if we want to catch any fish there.

Return To List

Ernest Conger 4/27/2014 mailto:genecongx@gmail.com STORIES: 1 2 3 4