Fishing…It’s a Family Affair

Written Sunday, June 14, 2009

 If you are active in any organization for the preservation of catfish…move along, there is nothing to see here. If you feel sorry for fish…move along, there is nothing to see here.  If you find catfish to be “cute” or “cuddly”…move along, there is nothing to see here. If you think fish are caught in oceans, lakes or streams already cleaned and frozen, just needing a box and a trip to the supermarket to be purchased by a consumer…move along, there is nothing to see here. If seeing a photo of a catfish being butchered for a future dinner is too much for your pansy ass…move along, there is nothing to see here.

If you do not fall under any of these categories, please read on…there is plenty to see here.

The fishing here at the resort has been pretty good. Well…when it’s not raining anyway. I have caught some pretty nice catfish these past couple of weeks. The fishing will slow down a bit when it get’s really hot out but for right now, it’s open season.

Fishing for us is a family affair. We all of course like to catch them but it’s usually me that does most of the catching because the boy’s can’t stay still long enough. The whole being patient thing is just too much right now. LOL

Logan not only enjoys catching them but he also likes to “stun” them with a hammer right before being cleaned. We do this so they don’t flop around while they are getting cut open and their insides removed. Some people nail them to trees and I have heard of other various methods of keeping them still while you clean them but I have always used the “stun” method with a hammer. My dad taught me this method when I was a little boy and I taught this little trick to Logan when he was two years old. Three years later, he “stuns” them like a pro.

After the “stun” process is complete, the fish move down the production line to Paula where the cleaning process begins. No, I didn’t make a typo….I said Paula. YES, I know how to clean a fish and lord knows I have cleaned a million of them. However, I am man enough to admit that my cute, normally harmless and somewhat shy wife does a better job than I do. She is very dainty and meticulous when she cleans a fish were I am more of a cut, stab, rip and tear kind of a fish cleaner. She always ends up with two to three times more meat than I do when all is said and done. Paula thinks this is an excuse to get her to clean the fish but it’s really true! 😉

Anyone interested in a fish fry?

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