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"GOOD EATING"
AS THE BOAT
SLID UP ONTO THE BANK I STEPPED OUT AND TIED IT TO THE STAKE I
HAD DRIVEN INTO THE GROUND FOR THAT PURPOSE. JOHN HANDED ME
THE FIVE GALLON BUCKET OF CATFISH WE HAD JUST TAKEN OFF OUR
LINES AND CRAWLED OUT OF THE BOAT. WE BOTH WALKED UP TO THE
CABIN AND AROUND TO THE BACK. I HAD BUILT A FISH CLEANING
TABLE THERE BETWEEN TWO TREES. IT HAD A SINK IN THE MIDDLE OF
THE TABLE AND I POURED THE FISH INTO THE SINK. I ASKED JOHN
IF HE WOULD GO IN AND GET A BOWL TO PUT THE FISH IN WHEN I
CLEANED THEM. AS HE WENT IN THE BACK DOOR, I HOLLERED FOR HIM
TO BRING ME A 7 UP ALSO.
I GOT MY
ELECTRIC KNIFE OFF THE BACK PORCH AND STARTED CLEANING THE
FISH. I ALWAYS FILET MY CATFISH SO THERE WILL BE NO BONES IN
THE MEAT. BONES ONLY SLOW YOU DOWN WHEN YOU ARE EATING, AND
WHEN I’M EATING CATFISH I DON’T WANT ANYTHING SLOWING ME
DOWN. NOW NO ONE ELSE THAT I EVER HEARD OF FILETS CATFISH.
ITS VERY TRICKY AND YOU REALLY HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO DO IT OR
YOU LOSE A LOT OF MEAT OR LEAVE STRINGS OF SKIN ON YOUR
FILET. ANYWAY AS I CLEANED THE FISH I PUT THE STRIPS OF MEAT
IN THE BOWL JOHN HAD BROUGHT OUT AND THE HEAD AND BONES IN THE
FIVE GALLON BUCKET. ONCE IN A WHILE I WOULD STOP AND TAKE A
DRINK OF MY 7 UP. JOHN SAT ON THE STEPS AND WATCHED ME. WE
TALKED ABOUT WHERE WE WANTED TO PUT SOME MORE LINES.
WHEN I
FINISHED FILLETING THE FISH I HAD A BOWL FULL OF FILETS AND A
BUCKET FULL OF FISH CLEANINGS. I TOOK THE BOWL INTO THE CABIN
AND JOHN TOOK THE BUCKET DOWN TO THE LAKE AND DUMPED THEM IN.
THE TURTLES WOULD HAVE THEM CLEANED UP BY NOON. WHEN JOHN
CAME BACK TO THE CABIN I HAD ALREADY STARTED COOKING
BREAKFAST. I HAD A BIG OLD CAST IRON DUTCH OVEN I FILLED HALF
FULL OF PEANUT OIL AND SET IT ON THE STOVE. I TURNED ON THE
OVEN AND SET IT AT 350 DEGREES. THEN I GOT OUT A GALLON ZIP
LOCK BAG AND PUT FOUR HEAPING TABLE SPOONS OF FLOUR IN IT.
THEN I PUT IN EIGHT HEAPING TABLE SPOONS OF COURSE GROUND
YELLOW CORN MEAL IN AND THEN I PUT IN TWO HEAPING TABLE SPOONS
OF ---AH---AH---MY SECRET INGREDIENT. AFTER THAT I ADDED SOME
GARLIC SALT AND SOME LEMON PEPPER AND SEALED THE BAG AND SHOOK
IT UNTIL ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS WERE WELL MIXED.
BY THIS
TIME THE PEANUT OIL WAS GOOD AND HOT. I DROPPED FOUR CATFISH
FILETS INTO THE ZIP LOCK BAG AND SHOOK IT UNTIL EACH WAS
COVERED WITH THE BATTER. THEN I DROPPED THEM IN THE HOT
PEANUT OIL TO COOK. WHILE THEY WERE COOKING I GREASED A PAN
AND PUT A CAN OF BISCUITS ON IT AND SLID IT INTO THE OVEN.
THEN I SCRAMBLED SIX EGGS. BY THIS TIME THE FISH WERE DONE.
JOHN HAD SET THE TABLE AND WE WERE ABOUT READY TO EAT
BREAKFAST. THE AUTOMATIC COFFEE POT STILL HAD SOME COFFEE IN
IT AND WHEN THE BISCUITS WERE DONE WE SAT DOWN FOR A
FISHERMAN’S BREAKFAST OF FRIED FISH, SCRAMBLED EGGS, BISCUITS
AND PLUM JELLY. BOY IT JUST DON’T GET ANY BETTER THEN THIS.
AFTER
BREAKFAST WE WENT BACK OUT ON THE LAKE AND PUT OUT SOME MORE
LIMB LINES. WE WENT OVER TO LITTLE GREEN BREAKS AND TIED OUT
TWELVE MORE HOOKS AND BAITED THEM WITH CHUNKS OF WEENIES, THEN
WE WENT OVER TO JODY’S DUCK BLIND AND CAUGHT SOME BREAM FOR
OUR OP (OPELOUSAS CATFISH) LINES. WE HOPED TO CATCH US A BIG
OP THAT NIGHT AND THE ONLY THING THEY WILL TAKE IS LIVE BAIT.
BY THE TIME WE HAD DONE ALL THIS IT WAS NOON TIME AND WE CAME
IN FOR A SANDWICH AND A NAP. AFTER OUR SIESTA WE WENT BACK
OUT TO BAIT UP OUR LINES FOR THE NIGHT. WE HAD 20 LIVE BREAM
AND 100 PIECES OF WEENIES TO BAIT WITH. THE BREAM WERE IN THE
BOAT’S LIVE BOX AND AS I WOULD NEED ONE TO BAIT A HOOK, JOHN
WOULD CATCH IT AND HAND IT TO ME. CATCHING THE BREAM OUT OF
THE LIVE BOX WITH YOUR HANDS WAS HARD. JOHN SAID IT WAS A LOT
EASIER CATCHING THEM THE FIRST TIME WITH A HOOK AND LINE THEN
IT WAS CATCHING THEM OUT OF THE LIVE BOX WITH HIS HANDS.
CADDO LAKE
IS FULL OF BREAM AND THEY ARE A LOT OF FUN TO CATCH. I USE A
FIBER GLASS FLY ROD AND A SMALL SPINNING REEL, A NUMBER 12
LONG SHANK HOOK WITH A SMALL SPLIT SHOT AND NO CORK. THIS WAY
I CAN FEEL EVEN THE LIGHTEST BITE. WE USE RED WIGGLER WORMS
FOR BAIT. WE CATCH LOTS OF BREAM IN THE 3 TO 4 INCH RANGE AND
THAT IS WHAT WE WANT FOR BAIT FOR OUR OP LINES. BUT WE ALSO
CATCH A LOT OF BREAM THAT WILL WEIGH A POUND OR MORE. BUT
THAT’S A WHOLE NOTHER STORY FOR A DIFFERENT TIME.
AFTER WE
GOT ALL OUR LINES BAITED WE WENT BACK TO CAMP AND CLEANED THE
FISH WE HAD TAKEN OFF OUR LINES WHEN WE BAITED. THEN IT WAS
TIME FOR SUPPER. WHAT WERE WE GOING TO HAVE FOR SUPPER? WHAT
ELSE BUT FISH. JOHN STARTED PEELING SOME POTATOES WHILE I
TURNED THE FIRE ON UNDER THE PEANUT OIL. I PUT SEVERAL FILETS
INTO THE ZIP LOCK BAG WITH THE DRY BATTER AND SHOOK IT REAL
GOOD TO GET THEM COVERED WITH THE BATTER. WHEN THE OIL WAS
HOT I DROPPED THEM IN. THEN I STARED MAKING A SALAD OF
LETTUCE, TOMATOES, RED ONIONS AND SALTED PEANUTS. SALTED
PEANUTS! YES, SALTED PEANUTS. DON’T KNOCK IT IF YOU HAVEN’T
TRIED IT. IT’S GOOD!
WE HAD AN
APPLE PIE FOR DISSERT AND SOME BLUE BELL ICE CREAM TO GO ON
TOP OF IT. AFTER WE ATE WE WENT OUT ON THE FRONT PORCH AND
SAT THERE LISTENING TO THE FROGS SING AND WATCHING THE MOON
COME UP. WE WERE BOTH TO FULL TO WANT TO TALK, SO WE JUST SAT
THERE AND ENJOYED THE EVENING. IN A LITTLE WHILE THE HOOT
OWLS BEGAN THEIR NIGHTLY SERENADE, AND WITH THE CHOIR OF FROGS
TO ACCOMPANY THEM THE NIGHT WAS ANYTHING BUT QUIET. BUT THE
SOUNDS WERE SOME HOW PEACEFUL. IT’S NICE TO BE CLOSE ENOUGH
FRIENDS TO BE TOGETHER AND NOT HAVE TO TALK. DO YOU
UNDERSTAND THAT? ANYWAY WE SAT THERE JUST LISTENING NOT
TALKING FOR OVER AN HOUR. THEN JOHN SAID, “DON’T YOU THINK
IT’S TIME TO GO RUN THE LINES?’
IT
WAS 10:00 O’CLOCK AND WE WENT OUT TO RUN OUR LINES. THE FIRST
LINES WERE OUR OP LINES AND WE HAD US A BIG OP ON ONE OF
THEM. I GOT HOLD OF THE LIMB LINE AND PULLED HIM UP TO THE
SURFACE AND JOHN NETTED HIM. WE LIFTED HIM INTO THE BOAT AND
LAID HIM IN THE BACK OF THE BOAT OUT OF THE WAY WHILE WE RAN
THE REST OF THE LINES. WE HAD SEVERAL CHANNEL CAT ON THE
LINES THAT WE HAD BAITED WITH WEENIES. WHEN WE GOT BACK TO
THE CABIN WE WEIGHED THE OP AND HE WEIGHED 22 ½ POUNDS.
JOHN SAID, ”NOW THAT’S GOING TO BE SOME
GOOD EATING.”