I got the opportunity to spend last thursday evening with my son fishing for cats on Badin Lake in New London. Friday was his birthday, and this was our “celebration.” We stopped at Bojangles on the way to the lake and got some chicken and biscuits for dinner in the boat, and headed to the launch.
We were catching bait at 6:45, my son throwing the cast net and me at the helm of the trolling motor. We had our catfish lines in the water at 8:05 PM, and the first strike hit at 8:25. I grabbed the rod, and when he stopped his initial run, I set the hook hard twice, and he headed right for the boat as fast as he could swim. He was at the boat quick, and the real battle began to net the pig. We got it done, and the fish weighed between 35-40 pounds, a big blue cat.
Over the next three hours, we landed another eleven fish, all channel cats between 3-10 lbs. The second fish we landed flopped in the boat and jumped right into the Bojangles box, so dinner was a bust. We released all the fish, and got home around 2:00 AM.
There’s nothing I enjoy more than spending time on the lake, and no one I’d rather do it with than my son. He is becoming a proficient catfish hunter, and he makes me proud every day.
By the way, some of the fish he landed came on the spiral wrapped catfish rod he built with me. Makes it all the mre fun.
