We tried the creek near our home, but the fish were not biting.
We then went to a pond in Bob Jones Park north of Southlake, TX, and the fish were really biting.
This was the very first fish Sophia caught. She reeled it in herself. I pulled it up onto the deck. I called it a bullhead / her dad called it a catfish. Whatever. It was huge -- probably about 12 inches, and about three pounds. Had we not taken the photo, I would have estimated about three feet long, and maybe 30 pounds.
After that, more than a dozen more bites in less than 30 minutes but Sophia caught only two perch / sunfish.
Update: see first comment. Now I'm curious. What is the difference between a catfish and a bullhead? An internet google search reveals:
Bullheads differ from other catfish in that bullheads have straight or rounded tails, whereas other species of catfish have forked tails. ... When these fish reach full size, catfish are longer than bullheads.This was definitely a bullhead.
In Nebraska we call it a Bullhead
ReplyDeleteThank you. I was introduced to fishing by my grandmother who fished in Storm Lake, Iowa. She was awesome at catching fish. I was truly amazed. I must have been five years old when I first saw her fish. She would collect night crawlers the night before and easily catch half a dozen fish in half an hour. And, yes, she called them bullheads also. I remember the very, very sharp spines on the lateral (pectoral?) fins.
DeleteWhat incredibly great memories. I never thought about it until just now -- history repeating itself. Sophia will remember she was five years old when she caught her first fish.
Thank you for taking time to write. Gave me a few more minutes to reminisce.
By the way, after catching the fish, my grandfather would then gut them and clean them and prepare them for dinner. Wow, they tasted good.
BTW, keep the Sophia updates coming. We love'em out here. I remember fishing with my dad (now gone) when i was 7. It was great! She'll remember it too long after you're gone.
ReplyDeleteGreat note; thank you. Makes my day. It really was a special day for her yesterday; as "good" as the photos might be, they don't capture her enthusiasm.
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