Baton Rouge Area Mississippi River 2009

[mullyden]

I would have posted on the "Is Anybody There?" thread started by Ed. I'm glad he started it, because it brought some folks back online. I decided I'd start here since it is clear from the earlier thread that some folks are out there, and it's time to get back to fishing! Jimmy and I made it to the river this weekend and they were really biting. Foir the two of us, we had 3 boxes of worms and ran out. Most were perfect eating size. We had 3 at about 5 lb, and a few throwbacks, but as you can see the size was just right for plate. As a matter of fact, I ate some and they were delicious. We had some liver and that seemed to catch larger ones on average. For the entire period, I either had no bait, or had a bite on retrieval. They didn'e bite exceptionally hard. We brought home 42 that weighed a total of 67 lb. I included a few pics including the first fish of the year for each of us. Catdaddy, Brad, can't wait to get you folks out there again.

[catfishscotty]

way to wackem and stackem :wink: !!!! looks like 1 fun day ....

cool pics also .

[12pack]

Denny, it was a late start for '09, but it certainly was a good one. Hopefully the interim between this trip and the next won't be nearly as long.

[scout]

Great looking catch Denny.:006:

[catdaddy64]

I would have posted on the "Is Anybody There?" thread started by Ed. I'm glad he started it, because it brought some folks back online. I decided I'd start here since it is clear from the earlier thread that some folks are out there, and it's time to get back to fishing! Jimmy and I made it to the river this weekend and they were really biting. Foir the two of us, we had 3 boxes of worms and ran out. Most were perfect eating size. We had 3 at about 5 lb, and a few throwbacks, but as you can see the size was just right for plate. As a matter of fact, I ate some and they were delicious. We had some liver and that seemed to catch larger ones on average. For the entire period, I either had no bait, or had a bite on retrieval. They didn'e bite exceptionally hard. We brought home 42 that weighed a total of 67 lb. I included a few pics including the first fish of the year for each of us. Catdaddy, Brad, can't wait to get you folks out there again.

Dude, hollar at me the next time you are in I would like to hit the river with you. Looks like it was a good trip in spite of me not being on :roll_eyes:board.

[catdaddy64]

It was good to hear from you...Hope we can hit the water real soon and share a beer while waiting for the big one to strike.

[katkiller77]

how good is the blue fishing in your area

[mullyden]

Probably 99 % of the cats we catch are bluecats. We catch an occasional flathead. In every great while we will get a channelcat but it is much rarer than catching flatheads. Last weekend we were talking about the fact that in many areas blues are scarce. We are very fortunate to have such a strong fishery so close. How about around Dayton?

[mullyden]

Catdaddy,
It was good to talk to you last night. I would like to get you out there again. I think our last trip was at Southern during last year's high water. I'll let you know about the next trip. You just gotta promise not to croak out there. You realize you are in deep do do if you have an attack when the fish are biting. I did make it back to BR this evening and will be here through the weekend. Maybe we can get a trip in on Sat. I don't know what the weather will bring. Anyway, talk to you later. Denny

[catdaddy64]

Catdaddy,
It was good to talk to you last night. I would like to get you out there again. I think our last trip was at Southern during last year's high water. I'll let you know about the next trip. You just gotta promise not to croak out there. You realize you are in deep do do if you have an attack when the fish are biting. I did make it back to BR this evening and will be here through the weekend. Maybe we can get a trip in on Sat. I don't know what the weather will bring. Anyway, talk to you later. Denny

Say the word and I'm there...Don't you worry your pretty little head over whether or not I will croak, I'm good to go but if such an event should occur you have my permission to use me as cut bait. :wink:

[mullyden]

Dave,
Should have gone out this morning, although it would have been a little cool. Last time out, the power to the instruments, radio and pumps went out. I wanted to fix it before going out again in order to take care of emergencies. Since I am getting too darn old, I forgot that I had put in a new fuse block to make it easy to restore power. The fuse is by the engine battery and I believe it gets corroded after a time. I had spares. Unfortunately, just remembered about the fuse an hour ago, thinking I had a lot of troubleshooting ahead. It took about 30 seconds to fix.
I'm done in Beaumont on Friday. Can't wait for a little normalcy. I'm planning to spend most of March in Arizona, to recouperate from the last 5 months. We may get a chance to get out next Sat though. I'll give you a buzz.

[catdaddy64]

Dave,
Should have gone out this morning, although it would have been a little cool. Last time out, the power to the instruments, radio and pumps went out. I wanted to fix it before going out again in order to take care of emergencies. Since I am getting too darn old, I forgot that I had put in a new fuse block to make it easy to restore power. The fuse is by the engine battery and I believe it gets corroded after a time. I had spares. Unfortunately, just remembered about the fuse an hour ago, thinking I had a lot of troubleshooting ahead. It took about 30 seconds to fix.
I'm done in Beaumont on Friday. Can't wait for a little normalcy. I'm planning to spend most of March in Arizona, to recouperate from the last 5 months. We may get a chance to get out next Sat though. I'll give you a buzz.

Cool...I was stranded until about 1pm anyway. The transmission finally went nearly completely out in my old car so I just got mobile a little while ago.

Hopefully, I will get it straightened out by next weekend or at least have access to a ride down to your house.

I'm glad you did not have to spend any money for repairs on the Queen Mary.

Hollar atcha soon.

[Bayou Gladiator]

Hello Denny,
The wife and I did get a chance to get to the water today. Got out there around 3Pm. The landing was nice and easy. Got to the spot and the fish filled the screen on Humminbird. Bite was good till we left. Called ourself going on a relaxing scouting trip but ended up with 17 nice ones in the ice chest.

[mullyden]

Gladiator,
Great pictures. I am glad it was easy to get in and out and that the fish were biting. How long did you stay out there? Thanks again for sharing your pictures Hopefully we'll get back out there next weekend. Using liver again? On our trip last weekend the liver (the liver you gave us) seemed to catch the larger fish but just catching any makes it a fine trip.

[Bayou Gladiator]

Hello Denny,

We fished till 1730hrs to get out before dark. If I had read your post for the 15th, I would have gone earlier and prepared to put them in the boat. We thought they were going to be slow to nill and we were going to get some riding in with plenty of pictures. I will be back this week maybe for Mardi Gras. And I will have plenty of liver with me. The landing will be good for a while with the river headed up.

CarlK

[mullyden]

Ed, you're being kinda tough on us huh? For someone that didn't have an instrument I can guess at the data you requested. For my trip a week ago, it was
9am
nice,
Darrow,
worms and liver,
worms and liver,
deep (60ft)
cold,
tiny to 5lb,42
Most of info was in my last trip post.
I was not bragging about our trip. It was, however, wonderful getting out after being away for about 5 months, and I was a little excited about it. I have posted after about every trip, some of which I have been forced to be quite humble. Now I don't care if you are bragging or not, but I do want to see and hear about your fish when you go out. I'd appreciate your bait/technique info, but it's fun to hear you are having fun our there. By the way, know where we might pick up some slicker? I think that would be a tough bait to beat right now.
Take care.

[scout]

Hey Denny, glad to see you back on the water. I made a trip yesterday and did pretty good. Ended up with about 25 with the largest going about 20 pounds.

You guys using chicken liver? Is it hard to keep on the hook? Just wondering because bait is hard to catch in the winter months and I am always looking to try different things. Good luck on your next fishin trip. Talk to you later, Randall.:006:

[catdaddy64]

Hey Denny, glad to see you back on the water. I made a trip yesterday and did pretty good. Ended up with about 25 with the largest going about 20 pounds.

You guys using chicken liver? Is it hard to keep on the hook? Just wondering because bait is hard to catch in the winter months and I am always looking to try different things. Good luck on your next fishin trip. Talk to you later, Randall.:006:

Hello Randall... to answer your question about liver...chicken liver isn't as hard as you would think to keep on a hook. I like using beef liver... it is tougher and the blood is stronger after all that is why we use it at all for the blood.

I have seen people soak cotton balls or piece of cotton sock in blood and use twine to attach the balls to their hook and catch the hell out of catfish.

I just had an idea that may work but I want to try it before I say anything just in case it sucks...talk to you later.

[CrawDaddy]

Denny,

Glad to hear you're done in Beamount. I know that had to be draining!!!

Still no fishing down here for me. Still playing golf. Going this Wednesday. I'll be glad when these winter Texans leave so we can get more in. right now it takes about 6 hours per round due the massive number of people on the course. During the summer months, we'd be lucky to see one person on the course!!

I just started studying to get my certification to be a personal trainer. hoping to do it on the side and see where it takes me!! Hopefully be done by July!!

Tell everyone we said hi!!!

[mullyden]

Scout,
It's nice hearing from you. I assume you're still fishing Vermillion (sp) Bay. Sounds like they are biting really well for you. Liver is pretty good, but, as you said, it is difficult to keep on the hook. I personally don't like fishing with it unless that is all they are biting on. I've seen some folks catch em like crazy on it, though.
Ed, do you know where the slicker came from? I didn't want to run you short of it. I wish we had some fast moving water. I've seen videos where people go out and catch skips as quick as they can throw their lines in and it looks like it would be fun to just fish for those. I guess the closest place would be on the Red or at 3 rivers. Have you heard of anyone catching them near us?
You all take care.

[catdaddy64]

Denny Liver is hard to keep on if you are throwing a long distance but not if you are dropping it under the boat or casting short distances plus liver is supposed to be fished using a three pronged hook (when is the last time any of us used three pronged hooks). I'm not disputing your experience with liver because I haven't had the opportunity to properly train you on yet. Sorry, that is an advanced lesson which we will cover this season...lol:006:

[catdaddy64]

Denny,

Glad to hear you're done in Beamount. I know that had to be draining!!!

Still no fishing down here for me. Still playing golf. Going this Wednesday. I'll be glad when these winter Texans leave so we can get more in. right now it takes about 6 hours per round due the massive number of people on the course. During the summer months, we'd be lucky to see one person on the course!!

I just started studying to get my certification to be a personal trainer. hoping to do it on the side and see where it takes me!! Hopefully be done by July!!

Tell everyone we said hi!!!

What's up Conan? Still coming home?

[CrawDaddy]

Not at anytime soon CatDaddy!! Liz got a promotion at Academy to the Operations Manager, which in the Academy world, is the Assistant Store Manager, which means the only way she moves up now is to get her own store!!

I am about 3-4 weeks away from completing my final exam to be a certified personal trainer. Then I will begin negotiations with several gyms of my pricing. The organization I am getting certified with is the only organization nationally accredited so I will have some leverage. The ISSA recommends that a 1st year CFT charge $50 per session. If I can negotiate that, I can have 4 clients training MON,WED, and FRi from 8am-noon, and make the same money I do now working 60+ hours per week :)

Wish me some luck CatDaddy!!!!!

[CrawDaddy]

Denny, last time we played golf we had a blast!!! Amazing since the winds were howling, but due to the direction of the wind, it made for some miraculous shots!!!

I am still not using my woods, still using my 5-iron off the tee. Tee'd up at the 309 yard par 4 with the wind at my back. Got a group of 4 totally ticked off when I hit the ball on the green!!!! Of course, in my typical fashion, I 3-putted for a par :( LOL

[bself]

Sounds like you should be playing with Tiger Woods hitting a 5 iron that far. I will be moving to TN in a few months after graduation. You need to come and see us before I get out of here. I have a great job lined up that includes lots of bull semen checks and inseminating cows. :confused2: Its gonna be a blast.

[catdaddy64]

Not at anytime soon CatDaddy!! Liz got a promotion at Academy to the Operations Manager, which in the Academy world, is the Assistant Store Manager, which means the only way she moves up now is to get her own store!!

I am about 3-4 weeks away from completing my final exam to be a certified personal trainer. Then I will begin negotiations with several gyms of my pricing. The organization I am getting certified with is the only organization nationally accredited so I will have some leverage. The ISSA recommends that a 1st year CFT charge $50 per session. If I can negotiate that, I can have 4 clients training MON,WED, and FRi from 8am-noon, and make the same money I do now working 60+ hours per week :)

Wish me some luck CatDaddy!!!!!

Conan, I hope everything works out for you. I know how much you hate punching the old time clock. lol

Tell Liz I said Congratulations on the promotion.

Talk to you soon.

Catdaddy

[CrawDaddy]

CatDaddy, thanks sir!! I am only 5 learning experiences away from completing my final exam.

Brad, I really didn't need that mental image in my head. It was all too easy to imagine with you though!!! LOL

Liz got called into the Store Manager's office 2 days ago. He informed her they want her to be ready to take over her own store in 12-months. I am sure glad now that the ISSA is a nationally accredited certification!!!

As far as my CFT "career" is going. I've already had a manager of one gym approach me telling me that as soon as I got certified to give her a call. And while at my store I've had 3 of my customers tell me they were interested in me training them :) So, hopefully the conversion from retail to Certified Fitness Trainer will be smooth.

I am definately enjoying all that I am learning. I have already designed my own resistance training program for myself and am excited about the results thus far. I still need to fine tune my nutrition strategy, but that is VERY difficult with me and Liz working in retail and having 3 kids!! But, once I start training full-time it will be SO much easier to accomplish!

Anyone hear from Denny lately? How bout Eds??

[mullyden]

After 3+ weeks in Arizona recuperating from 6 months in Beaumont I am back in BR! We had a really nice time in the mountains. I can't wait to get back into the water catching some cats. It looks like the evening storms pretty much screw up launching and retreiving the boat for this weekend. Brad, are you still around or have you moved already to Tenn.? Catdaddy how are you doing? Conan, sounds like things are going great for you folks. I hope you get to come back in this direction in the not too distant future.
We went through a horrific storm that was like hurricane type rain for over 200 miles on Wed night. It was quite an experience all the way from before Dallas to Shreveport. I have never been in something like that before.
We'll be talking to you. Take it easy.

[CrawDaddy]

Denny, there are only 2 Academy's in LA, but you never know!!

Got into a fight today with a shoplifter. I didn't get anything except a torn shirt and a lost Dallas Cowboy necklace. He left with a swollen eye and a broken nose. Was one HECK of a day!!!

Glad to hear you are back home Denny. Keep us posted on those cats!!

[catdaddy64]

Denny, there are only 2 Academy's in LA, but you never know!!

Got into a fight today with a shoplifter. I didn't get anything except a torn shirt and a lost Dallas Cowboy necklace. He left with a swollen eye and a broken nose. Was one HECK of a day!!!

Glad to hear you are back home Denny. Keep us posted on those cats!!

Keep on and your little ass is going to get hurt messing with those desperadoes. :wink:
CONAN...KEEPING THE WORLD SAFE, ONE SHOPLIFTER AT A TIME...DA..DA..DA..DA.

[CrawDaddy]

CatDaddy, I aint so little anymore my friend. With all the knowledge I have gained about weight training and nutrition from studying for my certification, I have become quiet the speciman :)

[catdaddy64]

CatDaddy, I aint so little anymore my friend. With all the knowledge I have gained about weight training and nutrition from studying for my certification, I have become quiet the specimen :)

HAHAHAHA...you are so funny. Knowledge about weight training and nutrition won't stop a bullet or a knife you better take some ducking lessons.
I have a couple of shoplifting stories myself...I will have to tell you sometimes. My friends and co-workers use to call me "Batman" because I was so good at spotting and capturing shoplifters...lol
We are hitting the water this weekend wish you could be with us. BTW check out my album to see what will be heading to my fishing holes in this weekend.:cool2:

[catdaddy64]

We caught 17 today...38lbs total...the biggest was 8 lbs which was caught by me...of course.
We introduced a young man to his first experience, catfishing and he had a blast...Denny will be posting some more photos later.

[CrawDaddy]

Man ,looks like a good time to me!!!

Whatever the choices for Liz to get her own store, you know I'm going to be spinning my own little web if any are good catfishing spots!!!

[catdaddy64]

There was a commercial fisherman who had trot lines set all over our best area. He had nerve enough to tell us that he has been pulling over 800lbs of fish a night out of the area and caught one that weighed 87 lbs. I know that the river is big and all but to keep 800lbs a night is ridiculous.
He has a right to make a living but why does he have to get right in our hole to do it.

[mullyden]

Although we have done better fishing, it was a great day, with good companionship and decent weather. Temp was great, unfortunately the wind was a little high. We were a little bit upset with the commercial fisherman, but he turned out to be an ok guy, just taking lots of fish. We'll likely go out a little further from the shore. The fella brought over some hunks of meat and said this was the best bait in the world. It was eel. It was our best bait of the day. A little goes a long way and it is tough as leather. We did have some slicker also. Dave got it from a bait store in Baker. Ed Shields, a source of slicker!!! We tried shrimp also and didn't get a bite.
Dave's frien Bantu came along. He had not fished much earlier, but I think he had a good time. Here are a couple of pics.

[catdaddy64]

Denny, what is up with your camera...those pics suck...haha
I think it must be the way you either saved the photos or the format you used when uploading them.

BTW... Ed,the bait store is called Luie's Bait and Tackle I am sure he's not the only one with slicker now because it is the time of year when they are plentiful in the river.

[mullyden]

Dave, I noticed that I had over pixilated the pics. I will send good copy of them to you. Sorry about that.

[CrawDaddy]

Denny,Dave,Eds and friends...Glad to see you guys back out there catching again!!

For me, I am relegated to working on my golf game. Actually had Liz to agree to go out on the golf course with me tomorrow. Although, I am missing my bst club. I broke 5-iron last week and I sure miss it. I have hit that thing over 240 yards a half-dozen times so far, and no other club seems to get me anywhere near that distance. The best was driving the green of a 304 yard par-4, but of course, it was majorly wind-aided, but impressive none the less!

Denny tell Mary we said hi. Gonna have to get your email addy again so I can send you some updated pics of the kiddos. Pru turns 9 in less than 2 weeks, Leyla 8 next month, and Gaven 5 in May!!

And Leyla and Pru are all ecited because they are going to start weight-traning after Leyla turns 8. Really cool that we haven't pushed a healthy lifestyle on them, but they want to do it anyway!!

[Flatheadhunter33]

Thats alot of fish to clean!:crazy:

[mullyden]

Flatheadhunter,
Where do you fish in AZ? The Colorado River? I was there for 3 wks last month and had a chance to fish a little bit at Roosevelt Lake before we had boat problems. Hope all is well with you folks out there.

[mullyden]

Ed,
It is good to hear from you after such a lengthy lull in activity. I'd definitely keep the eel if you catch any more. It worked out pretty good. I just don't like all the trot lines. I realize some people are doing it to live, but with 2200 miles of river, it's just my luck we're all fishing the same 100 yards. A few years ago a tow boat sunk exactly where we fished. We got beat out of a weekend of fishing when multiple crane barges set up to retrieve it. Oh well, I hope to get back out soon in any event. Now I gotta work on taxes.
Take care.

[catdaddy64]

Denny:

Was the eel skinned, fished without skin or what. I feel sure I can get some eels from the old boys that fish commercially up here but I don't know how to prepare 'em for bait.

It was just gutted and cut into chunks about 3/4 of a inch long, skin still intact.

I actually caught 2 fish on one piece. The skin is tough so it stays on the hook really well.

I am sure you are right about getting some of the commercial fishermen to keep a few for you. I don't know any personally anymore but in the past I had a few in my family but they have since passed on.

[ERIC S]

Live close to Blind River and wanted to know if it is any good. Just starting to catfish and need advice.

[mullyden]

Although it was very windy today, Catdaddy and I gave it a shot. The overall weather was better than expected, but there were serious whitecaps in places. Fishing was a little spottier, and leaves ("salad") would get on the lines at times and wreck fishing. It would come and go. The current would just pick up with the salad and go away just as quickly. We moved around a bit to get out of it several times. The bite was ok when your lines would stay clear. We ended up with 23 fish weighing a total of 55 lb. They on average were a little larger than the last trip. Attached are a couple of pics.

[catdaddy64]

Live close to Blind River and wanted to know if it is any good. Just starting to catfish and need advice.

I don't know anything about Blind River...

I, Googled Blind River, Louisiana and found an advertisement for Campsites on Blind River that states, Blind River is an excellent habitat for bass,
catfish, sac-a-lait, and other native species.

I would contact the Wildlife and Fisheries and see what they can tell you about the area. If you go by the Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters located at 2000 Quail Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70808 (225) 765-2800, you can get a free map of not only Blind River but all the rivers and bayous in Louisiana.

I hope this helped a little.

[ERIC S]

thanks I am going to do that. I have a buddy that fishes the Rahma canel. He said they do good with cats there. I am going to go with him on Sat and give it a try

[mullyden]

We put together a last minute trip yesterday that resulted in some fish. Jimmy and I caught 18 fish totalling 74 lb. The largest was a 9 lb blue (released) caught on the way in. Jimmy caught that and a nice 6+ lb flattie. Bites were slower than some trips but we did end up with a good mess of fish. Worms did ok for a while, but slacked off quite a bit. A commercial fisherman (%$@@*&%%%##@!) gave us a few fresh slicker he caught using a dip net with about a 10 foot handle. Said he caught them on points with faster current. All I can say is that it takes a heck of a stud to hold that net steady. The bite and quality of fish went up using that. It was extremely windy but thankfully in the right direction for anchoring. Attached are a few pics.

[StuBone278]

It really was quite windy yesterday, but yall still managed some, very nice! I fished a private pond just outside of baton rouge, we caught a few huge sac a lait and one of my buddies hooked into a monster catfish that ran him under the dock and broke off, all in one run!

Denny you ever try to catch from the levee when the water comes out of it's banks? My friend said they catch from bar pits when the water rises.

[mullyden]

Stu
Last year the river was extremely high until June. There were people lining the levees all over the place fishing over bar pits and even pasture that was flooded. I tried fishing only once from the levee and didn't do anything. I heard lots of stories about people tearing em up. I believe one of the things that happened was that fish came into the grassy areas eating bugs, worms, and other stuff. We went well after the initial flooding so that may have impacted our poor showing. Or then again, maybe I just suck as a fisherman. Either way, we came up without a fish. The river is within an inch of it's predicted crest and will begin dropping the first week of May. Probably won't have the opportunity to fish from the levees like last year. Sounds like you had a fun time at the pond.

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

Hey buddy this site is awsome. One of the guys on La sportsman told me about, man am I glad. Me, my wife and little boys fish that river all the time. And never really find anyone that does the same. Last year we done very good and she caught her first flathead a 26 incher. An dour oldest boy loves pulling in those big blues. Anyway good luck when you go and we will talk to you later.

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

Denny, Is there a certain time to catch flatheads. I called the wildlife and fisheries and the guy there said flathead fishing in the Atchafalaya in May is great. For some reason I like the good ole MS river.

[mullyden]

April and May are our best months overall. We catch very few flatties, primarily since they are predators and like live bait. Less than 1% of our fish are flatheads primarily since we do not often use live bait. Odds improve dramatically with large minnows, bream or crawfish. We should fish more often with that bait, but the logistics are not too good for buying or catching the bait. When you do hook a flathead, it definitely fights better than bluecats. The other good thing about flatheads is that they taste better as they get larger, unlike any other fish I am aware of. I'm glad you bring up flatheads since often times when we are out there we ask ourselves why we didn't bring the right bait. We've only caught one so far this year out of about 250 fish.

[mullyden]

I made a trip on the Mississippi yesterday. The water is really up and the current is treacherous in spots. At BR the level was 31.2 which is about the maximum level we can get access to our landing. I have a 22 ft boat and I wished it would have been larger. Normally towboats/barges generate little wake by the time they get to us. We experienced a "standing" set of waves from a tow that really got our attention. One crest actually rolled into the boat. The message is be extra careful. I had the pleasure of bringing two friends that I work with, (Gainer and Phil) for the first time. We had a good time but I kinda got smoked in the catching category. We ended up with 23 fish totaling 91 lb. The bite was kinda slow overall, but they were quality fish. Of the fish, 7 weighed between 7 and 9 lbs which we released. Most of the fish were caught on worms, but we did ok on slicker also. I believe a good time was had by all (except for the wierd wake). Attached are few pics to document the trip.

[scout]

Nice catch Denny.:006:

[catdaddy64]

Hey Dude it's Catdaddy...Remember me?

[catdaddy64]

Hey buddy this site is awsome. One of the guys on La sportsman told me about, man am I glad. Me, my wife and little boys fish that river all the time. And never really find anyone that does the same. Last year we done very good and she caught her first flathead a 26 incher. An dour oldest boy loves pulling in those big blues. Anyway good luck when you go and we will talk to you later.

Hey Bayou-Flathead,
I am the guy who told you about the BOC.
Glad to see you made it over here.

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

Hey Bayou-Flathead,
I am the guy who told you about the BOC.
Glad to see you made it over here.
I appreciate the info, it is a good site and has alot of good people here.

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

What is the BR level when the cats in the river are biting best?

[mullyden]

First of all, didn't know that Catdaddy let you know about the site. Catdaddy and I have fished many times on the River and hope to do more. He can probably tell you some good stories, mostly lies! I have data from all trips we have taken for a number of years. I will attempt to check success vs. level. (Have already for month vs. success.) I need to check level correlation and will let you know.

[catdaddy64]

First of all, didn't know that Catdaddy let you know about the site. Catdaddy and I have fished many times on the River and hope to do more. He can probably tell you some good stories, mostly lies! I have data from all trips we have taken for a number of years. I will attempt to check success vs. level. (Have already for month vs. success.) I need to check level correlation and will let you know.

And he is supposed to be my buddy...I may elaborate, exaggerate, embellish or enhance the truth but I never lie....lying is for people who have not the ability to catch catfish and lacking said ability have to make up tall tales detailing their exploits in order to impress their friends. I, on the other hand have the aforementioned ability therefore no need to lie.

Fishing buddy my ass...lol

[nightrider]

It's good to see all of you are still kicken and given the fish hell. I haven't been on the site in a long time. I sold my boat earlier this year and haven't been fishing too much lately. I got another little one on the way and with four already we've got our hands full. Lost one of my fishing partners several weeks ago, he fell off a roof while working and cracked his head open. He was working for my brother-in-law(my other fishing partner) and he has not been in the mode since. We are going to give it a go this weekend on the red river if the rains hold off. Anyways, take care and be careful on the water.

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

I want to store some slicker for the rest of the season since they are getting harder for me to catch.Do yall know where I can find some ? Any help will be appreciated.

[mullyden]

David (Catdaddy) found it at the bait shop in Baker. How do you catch em around here? The folks up north catch em with the s_ _ _ _?? rigs in fast water near wing dams and lock dams. I bought a couple and didn't know what to do with it other than get tangled up!

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

David (Catdaddy) found it at the bait shop in Baker. How do you catch em around here? The folks up north catch em with the s_ _ _ _?? rigs in fast water near wing dams and lock dams. I bought a couple and didn't know what to do with it other than get tangled up! We were dipping around Morganza and a few friends catch them on hooks, but it is getting real hit and miss. A guy I know sells shad by the box at the Rahma exit. $16 is not a bad deal if any of yall want some I can tell you where he is.

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

David (Catdaddy) found it at the bait shop in Baker. How do you catch em around here? The folks up north catch em with the s_ _ _ _?? rigs in fast water near wing dams and lock dams. I bought a couple and didn't know what to do with it other than get tangled up! Did you get that message I sent you? I still have not got this message thing down pat yet.

[mullyden]

Got your PM twice!! Thanks. Also appreciate info on slicker fishing. I was hoping you had magic method that would make em jump into your boat anywhere along the river. Shucks. Have a good weekend and be safe while building your shed.

[bself]

Well Denny I am finally moved, settled in, and started working. For first time in a long time I won't be living by the ole mighty mississippi. Hope all is going well down ya'lls way. I sure am loving it here and finally getting to do the things I was trained to do.

Take care

[mullyden]

It's really great that everything is falling into place for you. Sounds like Tennessee is treating you right. Stay in touch.
:smile2:

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

Man, am I glad that river is dropping. The fishing will get better before we know it. Good luck to all yall .

[catdaddy64]

Man, am I glad that river is dropping. The fishing will get better before we know it. Good luck to all yall .

I am ready...bored as hell sitting at home.

Fish are tearing things up on the coast from what I have been hearing.

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

You got that right.

[catdaddy64]

Why aren't we spouting nonsense like everyone else...After tomorrow we will have something to talk about besides who has the juiciest most luscious and delicious tomatoes and whose upside down tomato plants shriveled up and died.:wink: I'm not saying much because I let some really nice seeds burn in the ground. I still get ill when I think about that.

[mullyden]

I had the opportunity to meet Bayou Flathead (Roy) as Catdaddy, Roy and I made a trip to the river (or is it the trip from HELL). The company was great but the fishing and the subsequent adventure sucked. First the good- Roy showed us up. He caught two fish, a small eater and a 9 lb bluecat. The bad - Catdaddy and I didn't get a frickin bite for the shortened day. The ugly, we (I) tried to sink the boat in the Mississippi River and the truck got stuck trying to get out. Details-- after fishing for a couple of hours, i noticed the bilge pump was spitting out water. I removed a cover and found lots of water under the deck and we hauled back to the put in point. Quickly, Roy backed the trailer, we put the boat on the trailer and got stuck trying to pull the boat out due to loose dry sand. We dug and dug by hand with no luck. We were able to get the truck out by disconnecting the trailer, getting up the levee. We then created a path back to the boat by finding some plywood. We then pulled the boat out after some difficulty. GREAT!
Now the lesson. After the last time out, I had a potential wiring problem around the two livewell pumps with thru hull fittings. When I reinstalled them, I was very sensitive to the fact that if the cartridge pumps were not installed correctly, a direct opening with the thru hull fitting would flood the boat. I thought I took care and tried to screw them out after installing to be sure all was secure. I thought about prechecking them again this morning, but decided that I was sure they were ok during installation and didn't recheck. I tried to fill one of the livewells after Roy caught the first fish. It didn't work but that had happened before due to plugging, etc. so I filled the well with a bucket. We fished a couple of spots and I noticed a stream shooting out of the bilge pump discharge. After seeing, we responded correctly by getting out of the water. Dave and Roy noted that the bilge pump had been pumping pretty much for the entire trip. Of cource, they would not know where the flow was coming from. In reality, I obviously failed to install a pump correctly as I found it laying in the bottom of the bilge. The automatic bilge pump saved my boat and likely contributed to saving our lives. Another learning, never bypass automatic bilge pumps, and when you remove a thru hull pump cartridge, check your installation and check again. Fellas, I hope you go back out with me. I attached a pic of Roy's nice fish that he released and a pic of a cartridge pump assy and cartridge. If anyone has this in their boat and they mess with it, check it. Dave and I did enjoy meeting with Roy. Maybe next time the fish will be biting better and I can guarantee less of an escapade.

[Bobpaul]

Denny, your starting to piss me off. You act like it's the first day you ever owned a boat.

You don't fish worth a damn, and you try to sink your boat.

Am I going to have to come done there, get April, and show ya'll how things are done.:confused2:

[mullyden]

I'm guilty,guilty,guilty! I have had better days but at least we'll be able to go again. And, yes, you and April could teach me lots I am sure. I bet you're really busy with boat repairs at this time of the year. We have had 98 to 103 temps for the last two weeks. You're probably more comfortable where you are at. When it gets cooler and they start biting again, you're more than welcome to come down and teach me some stuff. In the meantime, take care. I assume your're still in Carolina, right?

[catdaddy64]

Denny, your starting to piss me off. You act like it's the first day you ever owned a boat.

You don't fish worth a damn, and you try to sink your boat.

Am I going to have to come done there, get April, and show ya'll how things are done.:confused2:

Roy and I think he sabotaged the trip because he wasn't getting any bites...Hell, I wasn't getting any bites either but I wasn't trying to off my "partners" to cover up my shortcomings.:wink:

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

The trip was not that bad, but it was an experience. Denny and David are a couple of great guys and I am sure we will hammer the cats next time.:ooooh:

[catdaddy64]

This isn't Catfishing news but I received word today that the Sac-a-lait (white Perch) are tearing things up at old river.

[catdaddy64]

Still juicy and delicious...thanks Roy.
What about yours, Denny? :smile2:

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

Catdaddy, I pulled 62 tomatoes and a 31 pound watermelon 4th of July morning. If I see yall guys in the next two weeks I will get you some more stuff out of the garden. It will start to die out in a couple weeks. We leave on Wed to go to Mississippi for five days. I will be doing some catfishing and sacalait fishing in Grenada lake. I will bring back some pictures.

[StuBone278]

Catdaddy you sure are right, Old River is on fire. Too bad.. I hope they are still there when I get back onshore in a few weeks. What is also too bad is the story my good friend told me about the way people were acting over there. Apparently his dock and his neighbors are the "hot spot" and some guys decided that they also owned my friend's dock. They proceeded to pull up to his dock, tie up their boat, get ONTO his dock, open the fishing hatch, and drop a line. That's not all, either. They brought their icechest onto the dock for easier access, and left the place littered with cans. I can't tell you how furious I would have been if I were there!!! This all happened while my buddies left to go into town for groceries. The good neighbors came out after seeing them set-up and told them off. Now its a different story if they stayed casting distance away and whatnot while IN their boat, but come on. I just can't understand what in the hell were those people thinking! Makes me sick!

[catdaddy64]

Catdaddy, I pulled 62 tomatoes and a 31 pound watermelon 4th of July morning. If I see yall guys in the next two weeks I will get you some more stuff out of the garden. It will start to die out in a couple weeks. We leave on Wed to go to Mississippi for five days. I will be doing some catfishing and sacalait fishing in Grenada lake. I will bring back some pictures.

Roy, let me know when you get back and I will make a point to meet up with you and get some more vegetables.
I think Denny is leaving this week to go to Alaska, Salmon fishing and will be gone for two weeks but when you get back we can get together and make a trip. I would not mind making a night trip to the BR Elevator. It has been years since I did that and we use to catch the hell out of some cats at night.

Holler, when you get a chance.

David

[catdaddy64]

Catdaddy you sure are right, Old River is on fire. Too bad.. I hope they are still there when I get back onshore in a few weeks. What is also too bad is the story my good friend told me about the way people were acting over there. Apparently his dock and his neighbors are the "hot spot" and some guys decided that they also owned my friend's dock. They proceeded to pull up to his dock, tie up their boat, get ONTO his dock, open the fishing hatch, and drop a line. That's not all, either. They brought their ice chest onto the dock for easier access, and left the place littered with cans. I can't tell you how furious I would have been if I were there!!! This all happened while my buddies left to go into town for groceries. The good neighbors came out after seeing them set-up and told them off. Now its a different story if they stayed casting distance away and whatnot while IN their boat, but come on. I just can't understand what in the hell were those people thinking! Makes me sick!

Stu,
Some people have no scruples. My brother had a camp over there for many years so I know what you are talking about. Looks like I might miss out on a good Sac-a-lait trip this year because everyone I know is busy or has already gone and I don't have access to a boat of my own at the moment even though I have one sitting in the yard...go figure. Hopefully this will be the last year I will be boatless. I plan to get the old Terry back in the water before too much longer.

Have a safe trip off shore and give us a shout when you get back.

David

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

Me and the family were there for five days and wore the fish out. The only problem was that out of 200 to 300 catfish only 15 were eating size. Man we have never caught so many ten inch channels cats in our lives.My wife beat the pants off of me the first day and then I started catching up. My little boy Dillon caught a two foot shoepick and a couple goo. We did see alot of good deer, met alot of nice people, ate alot of good food, did some swimming in the creeks and lake, and most importantly relaxed the entire time. It's a beautiful place and very affordable. Can't wait to go back next year.

[StuBone278]

About Old River, I was lucky enough to have Sunday off and went meet my friends. We didn't do too good on sacalait, but I went to the channel where the lake drains towards the Mississippi. I was expecting quite a current as I was entering the mouth, but didn't find hardly any until I was about 1/2 mile down. There was a dam back there half-underwater and I was pulling white bass (barfish) in 2 at a time on trout rigs as fast as I could get baits in the water! Talk about a fight having 2 fish on that are consistently weighing 1-1.5 pounds. Man those are some HARD FIGHTING LITTLE FISH!!!! Especially in a little current!! hahahaha!! Spent more time taking them off the hook than catching them, kept 15 and started throwing them back. This went on for about 3 hours until some guys came by, I invited them to fish the current seam with me and they motored right over where I was casting not once, not twice, but 3 times. I told them exactly where they should anchor and cast but they just kept circling around for some reason. I caught 2 more after 15 minutes, and left. I hope they started catching, they seemed like nice people just didn't know what they were doing. All in all a great day, and I was so satisfied after looking on google earth and thinking, "now that must be a good spot to fish," and I was right! haha!:big_smile: I'll get a picture on here as soon as I find my camera cable.

[StuBone278]

here are some pics.

[catdaddy64]

Stu, I'm sorry to hear that the Sac's weren't biting but like a true fisherman you found some fish that were and went home with supper.

You know how Sac's are...They are one one day and off the next.
Maybe we will get into them next year.
You need to make a trip over to B.R. and hit the river with us...

Good Luck...

[catdaddy64]

Me and the family were there for five days and wore the fish out. The only problem was that out of 200 to 300 catfish only 15 were eating size. Man we have never caught so many ten inch channels cats in our lives.My wife beat the pants off of me the first day and then I started catching up. My little boy Dillon caught a two foot shoepick and a couple goo. We did see alot of good deer, met alot of nice people, ate alot of good food, did some swimming in the creeks and lake, and most importantly relaxed the entire time. It's a beautiful place and very affordable. Can't wait to go back next year.

Good to hear that you had a relaxing trip and had lots of fun. After all that is what it is all about. Give me a call if you want to go fishing somewhere this weekend. I cut up all of those hot peppers you gave me into a small jar of olive oil and made a pepper infused oil that is HOT...

Talk to you soon.

David

[mullyden]

For the last week I was fortunate enough to take a trip to Alaska to catch some salmon. Fishing was absolutely fantastic. We caught lots of fish and had a great time overall. We were outside of Ketchikan on a floating camp. Fishing was self guided, which made it really nice. We stayed at Sea Otter Lodge and I would highly recommend it. My best was a 26 lb King Salmon which is the largest one taken so far this year out of their camp. I attached a pic. I hope we can get out catfishing again next week.

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

My wife and I ended up 77 big bream, four channels, and six crappie. It was so much fun out there, the weather was right and the fishing was hot.

[matt71269]

dang Roy, good job!

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

Yeah Matt, We were using six pound test on an ultra lite. The bream would race across the water right underneath the surface and the line and pole was so lite they felt like a monster pulling on the other side.

[mullyden]

Bayou,
Great day fishing. How did you go about catchin em? I'm about ready to get out again and maybe Old River would be a good choice. I really don't know much about fishing there. I installed a new fishfinder today and again checked my pump. I'm ready to go give it a shot again. I don't imagine the river is right yet and I need to check on the sand at our approach.
Thanks for sharing your pics. That crappie was a monster.

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

Denny, we went to Old River again today and had very little luck. First it poured down rain and the wind was howling. It is amazing how the fishing can go from great to horrible in two days. I guess thats why they call it fishing instead of catching. On Friday when we were catching them we were fishing three feet down in four to six feet of water. We were using crickets and shiners, even caught the cats on crickets. The water temp was 84 degrees and a nice green color.

[catdaddy64]

Denny, we went to Old River again today and had very little luck. First it poured down rain and the wind was howling. It is amazing how the fishing can go from great to horrible in two days. I guess thats why they call it fishing instead of catching. On Friday when we were catching them we were fishing three feet down in four to six feet of water. We were using crickets and shiners, even caught the cats on crickets. The water temp was 84 degrees and a nice green color.

I guess I missed your call both friday and yesterday...Oh well looks like you did good without me. :)

[catdaddy64]

Bayou,
Great day fishing. How did you go about catchin em? I'm about ready to get out again and maybe Old River would be a good choice. I really don't know much about fishing there. I installed a new fishfinder today and again checked my pump. I'm ready to go give it a shot again. I don't imagine the river is right yet and I need to check on the sand at our approach.
Thanks for sharing your pics. That crappie was a monster.

Denny,
Old River sound like a good choice for this weekend. I will call you later this week once we see what the weather is going to be like for Saturday.

[BAYOU-FLATHEAD]

I guess I missed your call both friday and yesterday...Oh well looks like you did good without me. :) David, When Jen heard that the crappie were biting she said I had to take her. She loves catching them and big bream. We will have to make a trip when she gets tired of going.

[charokee]

:big_smile: looks like you are havein lots of fun .i am new and hope to join yall in the fun telling all the fun fishing storys. just got my 1ts boat today .little 10 foot . i hope to get it wet soon when it stops rainning:sad2:.we are getting wet in Shreveport ...............

[mullyden]

Khristy,
Welcome to the BOC. Hope you do really well and keep in touch.