Larry is maybe the biggest of the catfish.....maybe
30+ inches. I know how explosively powerful they are.
I'm intend to feed him heavily, which is going to be hard since
there are five of them and it's gonna take a lot of food.
But that way, he should be eager to be near me and I
might get a chance at the lure. I don't have a net, and
doubt that I'd have much success with one if I did.
Catfish are incredibly fast...faster than me for sure.
But I do have a big beanbag type, float thing that is made of
a soft nylon mesh. They are used to it being nearby, so if I
can get a hold of the treble hook/lure with pliers i might be
able to haul him into that and have Mike cut the hook or hold
him while I do.
It's gonna take time to get him close and 'still' enough, though and
three hands would be nice to have about now <sigh>. I just hope
he doesn't get hung up someplace in the meantime. They like
to lay up under the roots, in the undercut bank downstream of the
valseneria garden.
If he's still around tomorrow, I'll begin gentle-ing him and stop off
at the hardware store on the way home for cutting pliers and
long needlenose. I just have to try. Almost every year, one of the
resident bass has a lure in his mouth. They can't close it and
can't even feed. I just don't want to watch what happened
to those fish, happen to Larry.
If you do fish, and you get a lure stuck inside the fish, put it
out of it's misery rather than putting it back to suffer.
I used to fish. In fact Mike and I spent the better part of two years,
wandering around the east with our boat. We'd put in, and find
an island to camp on for a week or so. We lived on fish and cheap
hot dogs. Fishing for food is a legitimate thing to do IMO.
But catch and release?
I just can't stand seeing the fungus and infections from rough
handling, not to mention the lures in the mouths. OK...I'll
get off my soapbox.
Thanks for the suggestions and I'll keep ya'll updated.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org