We had a great day on Clear Lake yesterday and the fishing wasn't bad either. We got to Limit Out Tackle early and bought four dozen minnows. They threw in a few dozen small minnows at no charge just to get them out of their tank. We went through all but six or seven of them.
I started things off with a 4.5 largemouth and that was pretty typical throughout the day. We had pretty close to twenty bass with the biggest at not quite 6 pounds and the smallest at just over 3. We also caught three catfish...12, 14, and 15 or thereabouts.
Sturmer's not quite 85, I'm 66 and Larry's somewhere in between. In all candor, I'm quite a bit better looking than either of them and I still have that youthful devil may care attitude about things. They don't, which brings me to the point.
Larry caught two of the catfish and Sturmer one. I don't pretend to be an expert on catfish, but I remember seeing a couple TV shows about "noodleing" for catfish. That's where you stick your hand into the fishes mouth. Therefore, I didn't see any risk in sticking my fingers into the fishes mouth so I could hold it for pictures. Big mistake. That sucker bit down on my fingers so hard I thought he was going to tear them off at the knuckles. I was screaming and running around the boat like a scared little girl. That catfish didn't let go for what seemed like hours...probably about 10 seconds. My fingers were a bloody mess, blood is dripping all over the carpet and windshield and the catfish is belly flopping all over the deck. My good friends, Sturmer and Larry, who I thought would help me find my severed fingers, were too busy with hysterical laughter to be of any use at all. I'm sure they both peed their pants which Sturmer probably does anyhow because he's 84 years old. Larry probably does too just because he likes the way it feels.
It was a 2 1/2 hour drive home and those guys were yuckin' it up and high fivin' each other the whole way. I couldn't wait to drop them off. TPO called (still shopping) and asked how the day went. I told her I got bit by a fish. There was silence for a moment and the same hysterical laughter. Some days you can't win.
The Black Friday Giant Minnow Fishing Trip On Clear Lake is one of my favorite trips of the year. I don't know how much longer we'll be doing it, but I hope it goes on for many more years. Larry and I told Sturmer that if he has a stroke or something we'll carry him onto the boat and strap him into the back seat. Sturmer said that was OK, but to make sure we tied a towel around his neck if he was drooling.
