Fishing

We went fishing out at Lake Somerville on Good Friday with Manly & Christine. Since it was Good Friday I guess everyone had the same idea that we had... the dock was PACKED! We were fishing for Crappie because it's that time of year, but we really would take whatever we could get.... we just want practice catching & cleaning fish... oh yeah, and eating :)

We headed out around 7am (we meant to head out earlier but Steven and I were dragging everyone behind) and got to actual fishing around 7:45am. We first tried the dock (with John in the stroller with a life jacket), but since it was packed (and windy) we decided to move to a little cove. This was a much better idea for multiple reasons. 1) The wind was being blocked by tall grass & small trees. & 2) The baby could get out of the stroller and explore (which really means eat) rocks and sand and even the shallow water.

John did excellent the entire time and we were out there about 4 hours. He did take a little nap while in my homemade ergo thingy... but when Manly caught the second (huge) fish, I got too excited and woke him up. I was also equipped with mad amounts of cheerios. I think next time to make it even better I might bring more snacks, some toys and a blanket to put over the pack & play. I think he would have taken an even better nap if I put him down in a pack & play.

So back to actual fishing. Not long after we first got set up, Manly caught a bass. It wasn't big enough to keep, but if was fun to watch him reel it in. Then I think Manly got the next hit... he had found a sweet spot that only his rod could reach really well. This fish was more of a fighter and it took him a while to get him in. Once we could see it we understood why. It was a big catfish! About 21 inches. I got the next bite... a smaller catfish, 14 inches. And then Christine got the next one... 16 inches. Christine's fish was fun. We were sitting together (probably talking about wedding stuff) when all of the sudden we saw a fish jump out of water and watched her bobber sink down! I was quite exciting. I was kinda surprised it was a catfish when we pulled him out because I've never seen them do that... but I guess he really wanted her minnow.

Around lunch time we cleaned them up and headed home. Christine & Manly had other plans, but that night at dinner I cooked all our fish. It made quite a bit. Enough to feed Steven and I three meals. The smaller fish were harder to clean, but Steven said they tasted better. I have never really tasted the dirty water taste that people talk about when it comes to catfish, but Steven said some parts of the bigger fish tasted that way. So I guess around 15 inches is ideal eating size. I also soaked them in milk to try to get the taste out (I've heard that can make them taste better).

It was a great morning! Here is a slide show of all our pictures.