Turtles and Catfish
Today my husband really wanted to go fishing. After dragging him to several back to school bashes, I gave in to his wishes and we headed out to Fort Jackson for some relaxing fish time. We thought the bait shop on base would be open but found it closed. However, that did not deter us. We had some Gulp fish bait, which looks like worms and is like catnip to fish, and began baiting our lines.
It was not long before my husband received his first bite, from some turtles. They seemed to really enjoy the smell of the Gulp bait and chased it through the water. My husband tried to get the line away from them but they tugged on it so much that it caused his line to bird nest. He wound up cutting it lose and then fishing with the string in the water and a bobber the rest of the time we were out there.
I on the other hand, baited my line and cast it. Sure enough, the turtles quickly came to see what new treat had landed in the water. I dragged my bait near one turtle and watched as he turned around and tried to catch it with his mouth. As fast as he swam, I was faster, and he did not get hold of my line. Eventually, I went to a different spot on the pier where there seemed to be less turtles and cast my line.
My husband caught the first fish using his string in the water. It was not a big fish, but enough to make a fish nugget, as our friend, Mr. Adam, said the first time we went fishing out there. Our cooler had no water in it, so my husband hung his line on the pier with the fish hanging on the outside while he went to fill the cooler with lake water. However, while he was gone, the fish let go of the bait and fell back into the water.
It was not long before he caught his second fish and then he had to determine how to take it off of the hook. My husband is not a fan of cold blooded animals. He gets weak in the knees at the sight and mere mention of snakes. Reptiles and anything slimy kind of makes him squeamish, so the thought of putting his hand on a slimy cold fish, was just not something he was interested in doing. He wound up putting his line with the fish still attached in the cooler while he tried to figure out how he would get it off.
We had some fishing gloves, but our youngest son soon chucked one into the water. So my husband was left with one fishing glove and his military gloves. While he was still struggling with his fish, I caught my first fish and brought it over to the cooler. I also did not want to touch a fish with my bare hands so my husband let me use his military gloves to hold the fish with one hand, and use some pliers with my other hand to remove the hook from the fish's mouth. I then also freed my husband's fish from his hook. We caught a few more fish this way, with my daughter even bringing a couple in.
Then our friend, Mr. Adam, showed up. We met him out there a few months ago when we first started fishing. We had no idea what we were doing and Mr. Adam, who recently started fishing himself, gave us some pointers. Our middle son, who never met a stranger, talked Mr. Adam up so much that he gave us all the fish he caught that day. I think he enjoyed seeing the boys' faces as they watched the fish swimming around in the cooler.
Today he told us a story about how a friend of his had caught three catfish from that same pier using hot dogs as bait. To prove his point, Mr. Adam brought some hot dogs out there and cast his line. The first thing he caught was a big turtle, who wound up taking the hook with him. The second time he felt a bite on his line, it got stuck somewhere in the water and he had to cut it loose. However, the third time he felt a bite, he reeled it in and sure enough, he had a small catfish on the end of his line.
It was not long before my husband received his first bite, from some turtles. They seemed to really enjoy the smell of the Gulp bait and chased it through the water. My husband tried to get the line away from them but they tugged on it so much that it caused his line to bird nest. He wound up cutting it lose and then fishing with the string in the water and a bobber the rest of the time we were out there.
I on the other hand, baited my line and cast it. Sure enough, the turtles quickly came to see what new treat had landed in the water. I dragged my bait near one turtle and watched as he turned around and tried to catch it with his mouth. As fast as he swam, I was faster, and he did not get hold of my line. Eventually, I went to a different spot on the pier where there seemed to be less turtles and cast my line.
My husband caught the first fish using his string in the water. It was not a big fish, but enough to make a fish nugget, as our friend, Mr. Adam, said the first time we went fishing out there. Our cooler had no water in it, so my husband hung his line on the pier with the fish hanging on the outside while he went to fill the cooler with lake water. However, while he was gone, the fish let go of the bait and fell back into the water.
It was not long before he caught his second fish and then he had to determine how to take it off of the hook. My husband is not a fan of cold blooded animals. He gets weak in the knees at the sight and mere mention of snakes. Reptiles and anything slimy kind of makes him squeamish, so the thought of putting his hand on a slimy cold fish, was just not something he was interested in doing. He wound up putting his line with the fish still attached in the cooler while he tried to figure out how he would get it off.
We had some fishing gloves, but our youngest son soon chucked one into the water. So my husband was left with one fishing glove and his military gloves. While he was still struggling with his fish, I caught my first fish and brought it over to the cooler. I also did not want to touch a fish with my bare hands so my husband let me use his military gloves to hold the fish with one hand, and use some pliers with my other hand to remove the hook from the fish's mouth. I then also freed my husband's fish from his hook. We caught a few more fish this way, with my daughter even bringing a couple in.
Today he told us a story about how a friend of his had caught three catfish from that same pier using hot dogs as bait. To prove his point, Mr. Adam brought some hot dogs out there and cast his line. The first thing he caught was a big turtle, who wound up taking the hook with him. The second time he felt a bite on his line, it got stuck somewhere in the water and he had to cut it loose. However, the third time he felt a bite, he reeled it in and sure enough, he had a small catfish on the end of his line.
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