As luck would have it, bait was hard to come by this morning. Finally after about a dozen throws of the net, two little mullet were in the bucket. Well, little was pushing it as these were a good six inches in length. It was going to be a large fish to take that bait but I baited the hook, tossed the line and settled in for a bit. It was a good while before I noticed the line easing out. Picking up the rod, I waited. That was the slowest fish ever! Well, I figured I would ease back on the line a wee bit to see what was happening on the other end. Goodness! It felt as if I had a log! Reeling in what was dead weight was not an easy task. There was no fighting, no pulling back...just dead weight. Yup! When I got it to the surface, I had just what I figured...a snapping turtle. Ugh! Now what! As I sat there pondering, the turtle regurgitated that whole six inch long mullet with the hook intact. Whew! That was easier than I expected. The mullet looked a good bit worse for wear but I rehooked it and tossed it back out.
After a bit, wham! Ok, so that acted a bit more like my redfish! When I pulled back to set the hook, the fish busted the top of the water and rolled just like a red would do. Now, we were talking!!! For the next ten minutes, I battled my fish and was so sure that I had supper on the other end of that line! Finally, the fish was near the pier and I could see what I had hooked. Nope...not a red. A HUGE gafftopsail catfish was on the hook. Oh, geez! That is something I did not need. Well, best scoop that thing and unhook it. Yep, a twenty-four inch long, almost eight pound catfish lay flopping on the pier. Slime was being slung everywhere! As soon as the fish settled down, I retrieved my hook, picked up the fish and tossed it back into the water. Fishing was done for the day. My hunger for fresh fish did not include a slimy catfish. Maybe I will have better luck tomorrow!
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