BIG FISH FUN

Catching fish is simply fun.  While some anglers prefer to catch LOTS of fish, others like the pursuit of big fish.  Personally, I've never really had a preference and I enjoy catching many species of fish both large and small.  But every once in a while it's rewarding to hook up with a nice one.  Oftentimes those fish are the ones remembered and many of them get larger over time.  Here are just a few that come to mind and now easily accessed in the world of digital media.

My family camps several times every summer with my sister and her family.  It's always a good time when my kids get to see their cousins and we have a great time fishing and playing in the water.  On occasion my mother joins us and she loves to fish, too.  We were fishing for channel catfish one summer a couple years ago and my mom hooks into what she thought was the bottom.  But it started moving and she quickly realized it was a fish and a big one to boot.  It was all she could do to hold onto the pole (she would later have a bruise where the butt of the rod was buried in her stomach) as the big fish dove for the depths.  I realized something wasn't right by the way the fish was fighting and not succumbing.  She finally got it to the side of the boat and the monstrous cat was foul hooked near the base of the tail.  We shot a few photos with her and her grand kids and her big fish.  It was at that time I was nearly written out of her will when I told her we had to release the fish.  "WHY?" she screamed.  A quick explanation of Kansas fishing regulations didn't do much to get me back into the will and I eased her big fish over the side.  But my mom, kids, nieces and nephews still talk about the one that "HAD to get away."

Family fishing adventures are always fun.  Even when the preferred species doesn't cooperate, in this case channel catfish, there always seems to be other sorts of excitement.  And although carp are considered rough fish a youngster tussling with a 5-10 pound carp every few minutes is enough to keep any kid busy and happy.  Years ago we'd have outings where we'd catch a handful of nice channel catfish but the highlight, for the kids anyway, were dozens of carp that readily ate the stink bait intended for catfish.

Truly monstrous fish of any species are unique.  In the world of crappie many anglers consider a 2-pounder to be one worthy of big fish consideration.  While I've caught many over two pounds I've never cracked the 3 pound mark coming within a few ounces only a handful of times.  This fish came from Glen Elder Reservoir a couple years back.  It was just over 16 inches long and incredibly deep-bodied.  Only a week or so removed from the majority of the spawn this fish was a legitimate contender for a 3-pounder had I caught it just a few days earlier. 

Fishing trips with my kids are richly rewarding.  Even ones where we don't fill the livewell or get sore fingers from dozens or hundreds of fish are enjoyable.  My daughter was home for a couple weeks from college recently when we enjoyed a nice day on the water together.  While we caught several dozen fish of assorted species, we didn't catch many walleye of legal size.  However, when we caught this fat 5-pounder my daughter was as excited as if we'd been catching fish all day long just like it.  She promptly put the photo on her Facebook page and was pleased when overnight she had 29 "Likes" on the big fish photo.