First Catfish

I recently caught my first catfish.  I think this is the first fish that I have caught that was bigger than a panfish.  All of my previous catches might have been bluegill.

Unlike a bluegill, this catfish did not put up much of a fight.  Within a few seconds of my first cast of the chicken liver into the water, I thought I might have felt a tug.  I could not tell for sure so I started reeling it in slowly.  I stopped reeling after a bit as there was no resistance.  When the line kept moving toward me, however, I then realized that I had something.

The body of this catfish was pretty scrawny relative to the size of its head.  It looked like it had seen better times.  When I released the fish back into the water, it swam away languidly.  Until just recently, nobody had been fishing this cattle watering "tank" on the family farm for many years.  I suspect that the catfish population contained in this tiny pond is at a Malthusian limit.

My son Tom paddled around in a kayak while fishing.   Unlike his younger brothers, Abe and Ted, Tom has yet to catch his first fish.  The next time we go to the farm, we might take him to the other pond where there is plenty of bluegill that love redworms.

As the sun started to set, you could see Venus just above the crescent moon.  It was bright enough that you could see it reflected in the water.  Later and more faintly, a third point of light joined the others, mighty Jupiter.

My thanks to my brother Steven for hosting this event and taking the picture of me with my catch.  Click on the photos below to see them full-size.