Fishing with Eric
Into a spring fishing pattern
By Eric Carpenter
Welcome to my fishing column. I’m writing this May 20 and the drought continues. Now the upper lake on Twin Lakes is drying up. I’m thinking the fish in the upper lake may be moving into the lower lake. The high population of fish in the lower lake may lend itself to some good fishing. I’m thinking I want to fish it soon.
Earlier this month Crystal and I hit Blue Mesa. I didn’t get the trophy lake trout I wanted but had a good time. We caught some stocker rainbows on worms and spinners. Crystal caught a nice sized yellow perch. I didn’t know what, if any, restrictions there are on keeping perch. In the confusion the perch got off the hook and swam away. It turns out the perch is an invasive species and keeping them is highly encouraged.
Interestingly, Crystal and I came across an old sign showing the fish species of Blue Mesa and it included the cutthroat trout. I was talking to a park ranger who stated the invasion of the yellow perch was probably the death knell of the cutthroat trout’s presence in Blue Mesa Reservoir due to the increased competition for food.
As many of you know Crystal and I drove to Texas for some fishing. My mother lives east of Waco so we decided to hit Lake Limestone. The weather forecast called for a cold front that night and I know from experience that fishing can be really good before a cold front.
Lake Limestone lives up to its namesake. It’s a rocky lake with clear water. I saw shad jumping out of the water presumably to escape predators. I had a worm on the bottom on one pole and on the other pole I put on a large tiger decorated spoon with a metal leader. I was fishing a shallow bay and tossing my spoon as far as I could to get to deeper water.
When the fish finally surfaced I thought, “I caught a dinosaur.”
~ Eric Carpenter
In my mind, I was getting frustrated because I was not fishing deep enough water.
I cast the line and felt a tug. Several seconds passed before I felt the true strength of the fish. The fish began pulling line out. I only had ten pound test line. I would reel the fish in a few feet and then it would strip more line. Fifteen minutes passed and the fish and I battled. My right arm began to fatigue. I have never caught a fish so big I became physically fatigued. When it stripped line I gladly cooperated not wanting to risk snapping my line.
I battled with the fish and it stayed deep in the water not letting me identify the species. When the fish finally surfaced I thought, “I caught a dinosaur.” I was shocked to discover I caught a flat Head Catfish. Catfish rarely bite lures preferring to feed on already dead animals. Apparently Flat head catfish will sometimes hunt and strike a lure.
In retrospect I should have known I had a catfish on the line. When you catch a trout they shake their heads violently and often jump above the surface trying to shake to hook from their mouths.
Catfish are the opposite. They simply pull and stay down deep.
We took the catfish home. He measured 37 inches long. I had a twenty five pound fish scale. He easily maxed out the scale. Some of the filets I cut off were two inches thick.
My step father, Jerry, seasoned the meat in steak seasoning and threw it on the grill. It was a little fishy until I doused it with lemon juice. I lapped it up.
My mother is making fish broth with the rest of the meat. Then Jerry dug a hole and put the catfish head in the hole then planted a Fig Tree on top of it.
Thank you for joining me on my column. Over the next month I plan on hitting Twin Lakes and Blue Mesa again. I’m still chasing that trophy Lake Trout.
Until next time tight lines everyone!