More catfish stories

As I unloaded the boat and got my gear ready I heard the rumble of thunder. I was not worried because I
was prepared for rain. I set my baits out as night time fell. I could see lightning in the distance and hear the
thunder echoing through the hills. I set a tarp under my chair as wind rippled the dark water. I often use the
tarp to stay dry in summer showers.

I checked the clickers on the big Penn reels, extended the handle of my landing net, and opened a cold
drink and had some peanuts for a snack. Many people would not enjoy the solitude and the waiting but I
was happy - I was fishing.

Above the sound of the wind in the leaves I heard the rain coming. I pulled the tarp over myself and the
chair and got ready. The rain came down hard and I smiled because rain this hard rarely lasts long. I peered
out at my rods cause rain this hard can splash sand into the reels. This would lock them up and a big cat
can snatch them into the water.

I considered putting on my raingear but it was warm and I would prefer being wet from the rain than from
sweating in the raingear. Although it was dark now I was surprised that I could barely see my rods. A look at
the water told me it was raining so hard that visibility was way down. The pounding rain also made enough
noise on the tarp that I wondered if I could hear the clickers on the reels. It had been raining hard like this for
over an hour and I was beginning to get concerned.

The Penn 209 in front of me gave a few clicks. I thought to myself - if this fish will wait a few minutes the
rain should slack off. I knew the big goldfish was near a downed log. If I let a fish move very far it would
surely get hung up.

The clicker signaled the slow deliberate pace of a flathead as it swam away. Out from under the tarp I
came and set the hook. I had a solid hook-up but the next thing I noticed was that I could not breath. It was
raining so hard that I had to put my head down to breath!

This was a little different than the usual catfish fight. I could not tell how far out the fish was by looking at
the rod tip. I quickly gained line and knew I had the fish away from the underwater log. I reached back and
laid the landing net at my feet and continued to play the fish. As it neared the bank it made a huge surge
and I knew it was little more than 8 feet from the bank since I could hear the thrash of the big tail. I slipped
the net into the water and led the fish into the net. The fish was less than 20 pounds and as I unhooked it I
thought it was unfair that I had to get this wet to land it. I got a rope from the boat and tied the fish off to the
side.

I notice things floating in the boat and decided maybe it had rained much more than I thought! I got the live
well pump and used it to pump the water from the boat. As the boat was being bailed out I put the rod away
and got a baitrunner spinning outfit from the boat. I checked the knot and the reels drag. I made sure the
hook was sharp enough to dig into my thumbnail.

The boat was empty of most of the water so I put the pump back into my livewell and brought a big
goldfish out. I hooked it as gently as possible with the Kahle 6/0 hook then lobbed it out into the dark water.

The torrent slacked and I set back into my chair. I figured this was a good time for a smoke. I fished the
brown goo out of my pocket that used to be a pack of cigarettes. Well not to fear I had another pack in my
drybox that I use to keep cameras. I retrieved them and opened them. I got one out and flicked my bic. Did
you know that when the steel striker of a lighter gets wet it will not light?

As I contemplated how to dry the lighter in a rainstorm, the clicker on the other Penn reel signaled a bite.
As I made my way to the rod I could hear the rain coming hard again. The fish teased me with a click every
30 seconds or so as I stood in the rain. I picked the rod up and turned off the clicker. I wanted the fish to
move steadily so I would know it had the bait. I waited with thumb gently on the spool but the fish didn’t
move. I used my thumb to slowly tighten the line. Was that the fishes gills I felt moving as the line was tight
or was it the wind and rain vibrating my line?

I gave the reel slack and it quickly tightened. I gave a little slack again and when I felt it tighten I slipped
the Penn into gear and hauled back.

The rod bowed and I reeled down and set the hook again. I gained a little line and the fish realized it was
hooked. It was coming in but shaking its head all the way. My 36-pound test line is tough but I had seen
heavier line broken after flatheads rasped their teeth on them. I applied more pressure and the fish stopped
shaking its head and planed right. I moved the net close and continued gaining line.

The fish bottomed out about 6 feet out and began thrashing. I grabbed the net and waded out to meet it.
I slipped the net down and drug the fish into it and waded back ashore. Luckily I didn’t get any wetter than
I already was. This was a little bigger fish of maybe 25 pounds. I unhooked it and got a rope and tied it to
the other side of my boat. Wrapped up the rod and put it away and got the other baitrunner combo.

I set a goldfish out on the second baitrunner and set in my chair. I pulled the tarp over my head and
reached for my drink. I spit my first taste of Pepsi back out. It had been rained full of water. I reached into my
pocket and pulled out another glob formerly known as a pack of cigarettes. That reminded me I need to get
the lighter going. Under cover of the tarp I flicked the lighter and after 500 or so tries I got a spark. I had to
keep switching hands cause my rain soaked thumbs were quite raw. It wasn’t long before I got a flicker then
a flame.

I remembered there was a pack of cigarettes in my dry bag where I keep spare clothes. I set the lighter
in the chair and covered it with the tarp while I fetched it. After opening the pack and retrieving a cigarette I
wisely put the remainder of the pack in the dry box. My chair must have been wet cause I had to flick the
lighter 60 or so times to get it going again. The rain was as hard as ever as the smoke drifted out from under
the tarp to be beaten to the ground.

Aside from being wet I was doing good. Surely this rain couldn’t come down so hard much longer. My feet
were in water. That made me think. I looked down and the baitrunners were half submerged! The lake was
rising. I got up from my chair and cut forked sticks to raise the front and back of the 2 rod and reel outfits.
A quick look at the boat verified that I must pump it again.

As I sat down again I tried to think if I had anything on the bank that would float away. I grabbed the dry
box and wedged it between some brush. I started my bilge pump again to make sure nothing would float out
of the boat.

I settled again under the tarp where I could hold my head up and breath. I opened another cold drink and
had a little. I wondered how much the lake might rise with all this rain.

A baitrunner clicked its alarm in the darkness. I could not be sure which rod it was since both remaining
outfits had similar reels. Soon I heard the steady clicking and was able to locate the right rod. I slipped the
clicker off and put my thumb on the lever bar for the main drag selector. I held a finger on the spool and when
I detected steady movement lowered the rod and set the main drag in gear.

When I felt the line tighten I hauled back to set the hook. The big fiberglass rod bowed as it strained to
move the fish. I lowered the rod and reeled down and set the hook again. Big flatheads are normally few and
far between and I wanted to be positive to hook the fish.

The spinning outfits were loaded with 30 pound test line and the drags were set appropriately. It was
apparent from the hookset that this was a strong fish and it peeled line steadily from the reel. Luckily it
swam for deeper water hoping to gain freedom. Line peeled of steadily for several minutes as I waited for
the fish to tire. I was hopeless to think of following this fish in my boat because I figured it was half full of
rainwater and had 2 flatheads tied to it already.

I was happy to see the fish plane to the side because that is an indication that the fish was tiring. It soon
stripped line slower and slower till It stopped. As I put more pressure on the rod I felt the flathead shaking
her head. I moved it slowly at first. As I gained line it tried to move but was to tired to pull straight away. It
moved to one side and the other as I gained line slowly. I located my big net and laid it at my feet. As the
fish neared the bank it hit bottom or became alarmed at something and gave another small run. It tired more
quickly and I soon had it headed back in to me. In the shallow water each thrash of the tail could be heard
even over the pounding rain. With about 6 feet of line left I raised the rod high in case I had trouble netting the
fish I could compensate for a big surge on the short line. I pulled the big cat into the big net and then lifted
the net by the hoop as I brought the fish farther onto the bank.

I roped this fine flathead to the boat and realized it was again time to pump the boat. As the rain continued
to fall I got another big goldfish and reset the baitrunner into the dark water. As the pump finished its work I
checked my watch. In another hour it would be daylight. I wondered if the rain would stop before I had to run
across the lake to my camp.

I was very happy to catch 3 big fish but was tired from all my activity and the beating the rain had done
on my body. I sat back in my chair under the tarp to relax as I waited for the sun to come up. I planned on
taking the fish to camp where I could get help taking pictures and getting them weighed. I thought of how
bad I would have felt to spent a night in the pounding rain if no fish had bit.

I was jolted from my thoughts by the buzz from one of the baitrunners. This fish had the bait and was
going hard. I picked up the rod, lowered the tip and threw the drag into gear. When the line came tight I
hauled back to set the hook.

The rod bowed wit the hookset and the fish turned and went to the side quickly. This fish did not feel as
heavy as the last but was plenty fast. It seemed intent on going to its daytime hideout even though I was just
as intent to land it. The drag on the baitrunner soon tired the fish. I led it into the net and roped it to the boat.

Daylight was breaking in the cloudy sky, so I just started getting gear ready to go to camp. The rain was
no longer pounding but showers started and stopped periodically. As I gathered the gear I noticed I was
wading around in 4 or 5 inches of water. The lake had risen 8 inches or more during the night! I loaded the
last of the gear then put the 4 flatheads in the boat and ran across the lake to camp. I tied up the boat and
then tied the fish to the dock.

The rain had stopped. My hands were soft from being wet all night. I was muddy and cold so I went to
the tent and got a pair of overalls and some dry shoes.

My buddies were up when up when I came out of the tent. I told them I might need help weighing and
photographing the fish. They have helped before but were impressed with the one night catch.

We weighed the fish and took a few quick pictures. I released the fish to grow, spawn, and fight again.
I hope another catmen catches these fine fish and enjoys the fight as much as I did. I also hope they
release the flatheads.

Catchabiggun,
Robby
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