Nimrod777 Spankin' Dem Cats

[rsimms]

With some encouragement from his lovely wife, Nimrod777 (Keith B.) finally had occasion to pay me another visit. He dragged along his buddy, Brian S. from Illinois.

What do you get when you combine two excellent anglers with some cooperative catfish? You get a GREAT day on the water! It was actually the second-best catfishing trip I've had this year. Keith and Brian topped out with cats that weighed in at 28, 22 and 17 pounds. The big ones got turned loose but nearly three dozen more were converted into fillets for the freezer. Keith and Brian left the river with about 200 pounds of catfish. Everything caught on raw chicken breast, BTW (one of my favorite baits).

The next day Keith and Brian hit the water with my guide friend, Capt. Chris Hight. I hear tell they done good... just haven't heard the details yet.

 

[catman529]

Congrats Keith! Y'all killed em


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[cbhunter]

They will hang out with anyone if they'll hang out with you!! Haha, looks like a great day


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[TNGunsmoke]

Congrats. I guess the chicken breast stays on a hook better than livers? Do you doctor them up with any sort of extra, like cherry jello or garlic salt?

 

[Crow Terminator]

Looks like a great time! I may have to get a trip for myself. When is a good peak time to come for the big blues? And another question....why chicken instead of skipjack or gizzard shad?

 

[Dbllunger]

Great day on the water guys! Congrats.

 

[rsimms]

Congrats. I guess the chicken breast stays on a hook better than livers? Do you doctor them up with any sort of extra, like cherry jello or garlic salt?

Chicken breast is a thousand times better than livers. Stays on hook, not messy, you can refreeze what you don't use (try that with livers), and best of all it CATCHES FISH!

I have tried spicing chicken breast with all those concoctions. I have NEVER been able tell a speck of difference from using it straight out of the package as is. Simply no need or reason to try and dress it up, IMHO.

 

[rsimms]

Looks like a great time! I may have to get a trip for myself. When is a good peak time to come for the big blues? And another question....why chicken instead of skipjack or gizzard shad?

First, it depends upon your definition of "big." (Serious question - what is your definition?)

That said, my favorite time is late April thru early June. However you can potentially catch a "big one" 365 days a year.

I love skipjack and gizzard shad but in our area they have been VERY hard to come by lately. And it is a lot of extra work, even when they are available. When I'm taking clients out multiple days, last thing I want to do is spend even MORE days on the water just catching bait. The truth is, if not for chicken breast, I probably couldn't guide.

That said, if I've got shad or bluegill, I use them... especially if specifically targeting fish 30 lbs. and up. But in some situations and techniques I use, chicken is actually better. And I've caught plenty of fish 30 lbs. and up on chicken. One of my clients even has a Line Class World Record Blue Cat caught on chicken: https://www.sceniccityfishing.com/record-breaker.html

 

[Nimrod777]

Folks, we had such a great time in Richard's boat! And we did truly slay them, especially compared to some of the recent fishing he has experienced.
We put all the trophy fish back into the river, but we filleted so many smaller ones we nearly got carpal tunnel!

We followed up the next day with a half-day chasing bass, where I learned that I am pretty much a novice throwing big hairy rubbery jigs across grass flats, but I did manage to catch 2 nice healthy largemouth. My buddy scored 6 or 7, but he has been fishing the high school circuit with his daughter in Illinois, and knows quite a bit more about chasing greenbacks than do I.

I cannot more heartily recommend a trip with Richard. Good fishing, great company. I can even recommend a really cheap motel that surprised us with it's cleanliness!