05-27-2019, 02:37 PM
Ice_sled called me up late Friday and asked if I wanted to go try for some cats Saturday morning. A rare window without rain or wind was open and it took no time at all for me to say yes. We met at Lincoln harbor at 6:00 and were soon dragging bait between the springs and the start of the orchards. We were in 10 fow and quite a way from shore. It's hard to estimate distance over water but I would say it was a good long rifle shot, a few hundred yards. The last time we had fished that area we got in too close and were continually getting hung up and at one point (pun intended) were attacked by a bunch of lurking rocks.
In no time Ben caught three cats while I sat by. He was using classic Santee rigs and I wasn't. So I switched over. I had bought some 2" peg floats before the flotilla and had never gotten around to using them. They were a bright red and chartreuse. One of my faults I have noticed as a fisherman is that I am slow to switch to something else when I should. I did better this time. Once I got the Santee rigs on, with a little help from my friend, I started catching, too. Ben wanted a couple of smaller cats to take home for a meal but we were mostly catching females full of eggs and he was loath to take them. But he caught a good big male that he really had to work to get in. It was the biggest cat I have ever seen, taping nearly 31" and weighing 12 pounds. Boy did I have some catching up to do. Ben had about four cats to each of mine and I had caught nothing of any size. Then I caught a bumper, a pretty 27.5" female. We kept steadily catching as we turned and strolled back past the channel and halfway to Sandy Beach. Eventually I caught a cat that just about overpowered me. It was on my lighter rod and he had my tip down pulsing under the water. He turned out to be a nice fat 28.5 that weighed 9.5 pounds.
Ben had soaked some white bass in a chartreuse marinade he had gotten at Walmart and that was all we used for bait. At one point Ben noted with surprise that he had put two pieces of bait on one hook. He decided to leave it that way and had a couple of more strong bounces but didn't hook up. Probably had the bend of the hook too full. We had quite a few good hits that availed no fish in the boat. Just the way it goes sometimes.
When the wind started to pick up around 11, as forecast, we pulled stakes and headed in. Ben had doubled me by catching twice as many fish, twelve to my six. But I got twice as many bumpers as he did [
]. I hit several of my goals: went over 80 points in the contest, put a fish in the Top 10 again, and moved back well inside the tenth place spot; I think I'm tied with Violet, MrsJ now which is good company to be in. I am blessed; seems to happen every time I go fishing with Ben. Couldn't have asked for a nicer day or better company.
About halfway through our trip he lost electrical power to his instruments so we couldn't get speed, depth or temperature readings. Must have just lost a contact somewhere. But earlier it had been 56°. Only later did I get worried that he could end up with another fire like he did last year. His boat is very squared away and he knows what he is doing, so it was all right, I guess.
Oh crap, here I am messing around doing this report when I have to meet my brother in 23 minutes to try to help him catch his first cats. Ta da, ducks, as they say in England.
[signature]
In no time Ben caught three cats while I sat by. He was using classic Santee rigs and I wasn't. So I switched over. I had bought some 2" peg floats before the flotilla and had never gotten around to using them. They were a bright red and chartreuse. One of my faults I have noticed as a fisherman is that I am slow to switch to something else when I should. I did better this time. Once I got the Santee rigs on, with a little help from my friend, I started catching, too. Ben wanted a couple of smaller cats to take home for a meal but we were mostly catching females full of eggs and he was loath to take them. But he caught a good big male that he really had to work to get in. It was the biggest cat I have ever seen, taping nearly 31" and weighing 12 pounds. Boy did I have some catching up to do. Ben had about four cats to each of mine and I had caught nothing of any size. Then I caught a bumper, a pretty 27.5" female. We kept steadily catching as we turned and strolled back past the channel and halfway to Sandy Beach. Eventually I caught a cat that just about overpowered me. It was on my lighter rod and he had my tip down pulsing under the water. He turned out to be a nice fat 28.5 that weighed 9.5 pounds.
Ben had soaked some white bass in a chartreuse marinade he had gotten at Walmart and that was all we used for bait. At one point Ben noted with surprise that he had put two pieces of bait on one hook. He decided to leave it that way and had a couple of more strong bounces but didn't hook up. Probably had the bend of the hook too full. We had quite a few good hits that availed no fish in the boat. Just the way it goes sometimes.
When the wind started to pick up around 11, as forecast, we pulled stakes and headed in. Ben had doubled me by catching twice as many fish, twelve to my six. But I got twice as many bumpers as he did [
]. I hit several of my goals: went over 80 points in the contest, put a fish in the Top 10 again, and moved back well inside the tenth place spot; I think I'm tied with Violet, MrsJ now which is good company to be in. I am blessed; seems to happen every time I go fishing with Ben. Couldn't have asked for a nicer day or better company.About halfway through our trip he lost electrical power to his instruments so we couldn't get speed, depth or temperature readings. Must have just lost a contact somewhere. But earlier it had been 56°. Only later did I get worried that he could end up with another fire like he did last year. His boat is very squared away and he knows what he is doing, so it was all right, I guess.
Oh crap, here I am messing around doing this report when I have to meet my brother in 23 minutes to try to help him catch his first cats. Ta da, ducks, as they say in England.
[signature]
The older I get the more I would rather be considered a good man than a good fisherman.
