On Saturday I fished with Robert E Lee of Gause Texas and his son Justin and daughter Gina. It was Justins birthday and so he caught more fish than anyone.
The bigger fish have been hiding lately, actually I think they are busy chasing the 1,000 jug lines I see around Lake Somerville. Somerville dam is still letting water out, and more and more stumps and rocks are showing. Be real careful in Pecan Lake area as the hump in the middle is now air born and will do some real damage to you boat and prop.

They ended the day with 52 cats for the cleaning table.

All caught on CJ's Monster bait, in 3-12 foot water, using tight lines.



On Sunday I had guys from Taylor Texas, Clay, Steven, Bill, and Bradley.
They were supposed to bring some wind with them, but forgot it at home. Many times there was not so much as a ripple on the water. This made for a very hot, slow bite, kind of day.

They ended up with 46 cats for the fillet table. Lots of 8-10 inch fish throw backs today. The better fish were coming in 6 foot water.

Fish Caught on CJ's Shad punch bait, tight lines, in 5-12 foot water



I am going to take off a few days to play with the grand kids.

We've been out the last 2 weekends and have caught nothing but small catfish. I've been expecting larger ones to show up at any time as they are usually randomly mixed in but your comments about small catfish caught my eye.

Question about cleaning catfish as you must be one of the world's most expert catfish cleaners by now :-) What kind of knife do you like to use? Do you buy replacement blades for it? If so how often, how do you know when it's time to replace them?

I've been trying to figure out the best way to clean catfish as they are a slippery challenge. At the moment:

I pinch off the dorsal spines with pliers so they lay flatter.

I then cut around the neck on both sides.

Then I grab the tail with cleaning pliers and take the fillet off from the back to the front. It goes smooth until I hit the ribs and then its like hacking off my leg with a rusty saw :-(

I hack through the ribs until I intersect with the initial cut around the neck.

I cut the ribs off with the skin on.

I then separate the skin from the now boneless fillet starting from the front(thickest) part of the fillet cutting back towards the tail. If I'm lucky the skin comes off cleanly.

I've cleaned a lot of fish and I do OK most of the time but I still routinely have problems leaving too much meat on the carcass or cutting through the skin while skinning the fillet. Some of it must be carelessness or fatigue or lack of skill but I also think the shape/profile of each particular fish presents its own challenge. I also think things go better when I move slower and let the knife find its way down the backbone rather than forcing it. Its easier to get the first fillet off since the meat on the backside keeps the fish pretty flat. When doing the second side the body tends to sag and its harder to keep the knife flat as I take off the fillet. I have more problems with the second side generally.

My Dad was a guide on the Lake of the Ozarks when I was a kid and I cleaned a lot of fish and I enjoy cleaning fish because it takes me back to that time. Plus our boys and the boys of our friends flock to fish cleaning and find it endlessly interesting. In some ways its the best part or at least the perfect ending to a fishing trip though it can be a tedious task.

Any comments on cleaning catfish? I keep thinking that if I clean enough of them I will get to be very efficient. I've made some progress but have a long way to go.

Thanks.

This is basically how he rolls those millions of Cat's he catches but he has a nice finesse about it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEQrVL4uvw8



Also, I'm sitting here thinking about it.. Weldon might be able to put you on catfish in a desert....!!

More Happy Anglers and More Fish. Good job.

As always a super job! Nice mess of fish.

Have fun with the grand kids Weldon. Hate to hear the dam release, nothing coming down the Yegua from my way. My woodduck holes are bone dry!

Thanks for the fish cleaning video link. That was a real eye opener for me! I didn't realize it was possible to rip through those ribs like that. I'm going to upgrade my electric knife to a Mr. Twister and give it a try on our next catch.