Finally got back to Catfishing this morning and knocked the rust off. Bait was easy in 22 ft. Virtually no wind and barely a ripple on the lake so we pulled boards with the trolling motor. First spot we scanned was loaded with fish so that’s where we threw down. Bottom of the old dam contour in 22 ft. 20 minute in we got our first fish at 8:40. Big ol channel cat. Half way through we got a monster takedown that was side running the planer board hard. Cranked down and fish on! Got it almost to the the boat and it ran hard and my little 6/0 hook ripped loose and lost it. Felt like a 35-40 lbr but never got a look. We caught 6 good eaters and 6 dinks and got off the water at 10. Jax got the Big fish of the day dad caught the rest. Felt good to be back doing what we love to do. Sure wish we could have landed the toad but that’s fishing. Needed a little wind to get em going but we got lucky to get what we got. I will put together a little video after we smoke these fish tonight.

Brined em for 2 hours with salt, brown sugar, black pepper, and soy sauce. Just threw em on the smoker for 2 hrs. Will be eating smoked catfish for dinner and smoked fish dip with the leftovers.

Awesome report and those fish look great! Sucks about losing the big one. Thats a question I always ask myself...am I using the right hook size? I am wanting to catch larger fish but not to the point that I am missing eaters bcs I want those too... the struggle is real ha ha.

I went out Friday night on the Vine and no luck for the blues but did catch a few nice Channel we are going to have tonight, going to try your method there! Just checked we have all that.

Nothing like a fresh fish dinner...as the Linders taught me when I was lad reading In-Fisherman, "Nutritious, delicious and if harvested responsibly a renewable resource!"

There is definitely a trade off when choosing hook size Dan. I’ve caught a 50 on a 6/0 but I’ve lost countless big fish on em over the years. This time of year the water is hot and they pull twice as hard. You get one over 30 lbs on the line and your gonna loose em with 6/0 unless the hook sets perfectly. Lewisville doesn’t have a ton of big fish in it as I’m sure you know since it’s your home lake. When I fish Trophy lakes this time of year I upsize just in case. If I go all 8/0 on Lewisville then my catch rate plummets. We rarely hang a big fish on Lewisville this time of year and it’s a ton of fun for my son to catch these eaters. Had I been using 8/0 I would have landed that fish but only caught less than half of the 1000 eaters we’ve caught since spring. Come October I’m able to locate big fish on my sonar so I go big. This time of year I very rarely see big fish on sonar and haven’t seen a single one all summer. Today I saw 2 on side image which was the first time I’ve marked big fish since Mother’s Day.

I just heard a good song about the one that got away titled Big Whiskers.

We had one come unbuttoned yesterday too Chris. I don't think he was 30 but he felt like he was over 20. The spawn is over and we are into the dog days of summer. In my opinion, it will continue to get better from here on out...

The hook size thing is a real conundrum. I watched Richard Gene catch a 65 pound blue on a 2/0 and 14 pound testline. Took him over an hour to boat the beast.

BOOM!!! Diner is served!

That is a good looking plate!

Ken

Smoked Catfish Cajun Dip! Crazy good!

WTG fellers! The fish looks great, good to hear you're feeling better! Y'all keep after 'em & be careful.

Yes Sir! It just don't get any better!

Nice job there Chef Gato! After being sick you are just like them blues comin off the nest. You need to feed up! Plate looks awesome. Little catch clean cook action! Gotta love it! Nothin better than fresh fish. When I started getting good at catching fish,I stopped freezing them. If you want good fish, eat it fresh, not frozen. The difference is amazing.
Glad to see you and Jax back in action brother.

Thanks amigos! Mrs. Azul has always been the cook around our house until we got the Traeger Tim. That sucker can turn a caveman into a gourmet Chef no doubt. Wife gets whatever meat is on sale and we flip through the app to decide what we want. It has 1000s of recipes at your fingertips and every single one we have tried is phenomenal. It will have you making food you never thought you could make. It’s the coolest gadget for a man I’ve seen in a loooooong time. Every caveman should have one!

I agree about the pellet grills... I got hooked on them about 4 years ago, now have one at the house, and one at the lake. Wife and boys love it too. You have to try to mess something up. I still have my other grills and smokers, but pellet grill gets used 10 to 1 over the others.

Traeger makes a great grill, but I am a fan of the Pit Boss grills also. Have used them side by side, and Pit Boss holds it own at about a third of the price. Have one over 3 years old, and has a lot of hours on it... still cooking.

Is it lunch time yet?