Lookin for lunch

So off I went to my usual stomping grounds. I haven’t kept any fish in months and I’ve been hearing a bluegill sammich calling my name. After the noseeums tied to eat me alive last week I was in no hurry to start early for a repeat performance of that. In about 7 and out about 11, just ahead of the promised rain. Almost one now and the rain just got here,but the timing was good anyway. Boats put away, fish filleted, lunch made and eaten. All I need now is a nap. About 15 bluegills over 8” and a couple of crappie and a little bass on the fly rod. Mike and Sylvia stopped by to say hello, good to see y’all. Ran into another friend and made another. Just a real relaxed morning with almost no wind and just a few noseeums. The highlight of the morning came in the form of a catfish. I was pitching my tiny stuff on some Fireline Crystal in 3lb and made a good cast up underneath a tree into maybe a foot of water. One turn on the reel and got a thump and snapped the rod up to set the hook. The water exploded and I couldn’t control what just broke water and headed south for open water. Thrashing like a bass a couple of times, but it was the wrong color. Drag slipping, back and forth, under the boat, this went on for a couple of minutes. Finally got him close, but he had other ideas and he left again. Got the net in one hand and he quit stripping so much line. Two or three tries I got him in the net, my new PB for my ultra light tackle at 5lb 12oz on the scale. Doubled up in the net it was an impressive sight. I dropped him over the side and immediately cussed myself for not taking a pic. Brought 6 good gills over 8” home for my sammich fix. Filleted and blackened and resting on a bed of mayo and toast, I’m good for a while. Couple of pics of today’s victims in a couple of different phases. Thanks for coming along, hope to see y’all soon. Til the ........Skeet

Good seeing ya. We ended with 8 big copperhead gills, 3 shellcrackers and a catfish making making the ride home. We headed out about 9:30. Lots of algae everywhere we went. Couldnt buy a bite anywhere there was algae.

Nice Tim guess you could have titled this "greetins and eatins"...how"d the biggie whip do?

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buggy-whip

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

I knew what you meant. It did very well. I had a popper bug on it today and the fish were a little slow getting started. I did get a couple on it, one barely hand width in length. The gar started bothering and I switched off. The 3lb Fireline crystal didn’t cast nearly as well as I had hoped. It would do well with a bit heavier jig. Maybe the 2lb variety will do better, this will probably go on a slip float rig I have.

Glad to see you found a few Tim, with lunch provided :ThumbsUp...& Mike & Sylvia seen water as well...my morning was spent filling a few bad spots in lawn w/sod, enough said...hey this stuff in pic is mangrove/no-see'em/mosquito, tested I'd swear by & surprisedly "deet-free"...$ 4.50 at Ollies warehouse....also a sunscreen

Have to try that stuff^^^. is that the same stuff you let Sylvia use that morning last year at Swoop ramp? Surprised me when I cleaned them yesterday. All the gills were males, the Shellcrackers were all hens loaded with eggs and ready to pop, and the catfish was loaded with eggs. Gills and shellcrackers all came from the same area except 1.

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Originally Posted by huntinslabs

Have to try that stuff^^^. is that the same stuff you let Sylvia use that morning last year at Swoop ramp? Surprised me when I cleaned them yesterday. All the gills were males, the Shellcrackers were all hens loaded with eggs and ready to pop, and the catfish was loaded with eggs. Gills and shellcrackers all came from the same area except 1.

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Yes Sir...same stuff...& your right, the smorgasbord of bait/bugs/eggs, ect.. is as good as it's going to get in the salt & fresh...the mullet pods in the lagoon have been massive...

I have heard that. Just too dang hot over there with no relief from sun with no shade from trees anywhere. Heck by 9:30 yesterday Sylvia had enough and I tried staying in shade from trees as much as possible.

nice morning on the water and a good time at the table as well. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

Looks like you found a great lunch. Good catch and report.

Great story, big surprises are always fun, especially that big. Did I miss something? " like a bass ..., but it was the wrong color. " So what was it?

Thanks for sharing.

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Originally Posted by Slab

Great story, big surprises are always fun, especially that big. Did I miss something? " like a bass ..., but it was the wrong color. " So what was it?

Thanks for sharing.

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The highlight of the day came in The form of a catfish. That was the line that began the telling of that part of the story. It was gray in color with a white belly. A very healthy fish, and I have still not cleaned a catfish. I know how, have seen it done, just don’t have the interest. At 5lb 12oz it was quite a show.

SWEET!!! Good Job. Make me hungry

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Originally Posted by skeetbum

The highlight of the day came in The form of a catfish. That was the line that began the telling of that part of the story. It was gray in color with a white belly. A very healthy fish, and I have still not cleaned a catfish. I know how, have seen it done, just don’t have the interest. At 5lb 12oz it was quite a show.

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I filet my catfish now Skeet. Especially the larger ones. I keep only 2 max per trip and I clean them last. I cut the filets into strips or nuggets.
Good post, thanks!