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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.”

 

  BY LOREN MOORE

COPYRIGHT 2000

 

LOREN

 SEE YA

 < CADDO LAKE AT SUNSET
 

 

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