A fatty catty Hemingway style...

[goodfishin]

Had big, bold dreams of an all-fishing Sunday yesterday but that fantasy died a quick death at the hands of an arm-length to-do list. Didn't free up until around 7 but just had to at least throw out a couple casts somewhere. Decided to just hit a nearby puddle that's barely more than a water-filled dimple in a tiny, tiny, tiny residential park. Hey, sometimes "close" beats "good", right?

Since any fishing beats no fishing, made the best of it by dragging over a cooler, some old uncooked sausages, a light-up bobber and an old beater pole I use for catfish. Threw the bait around for about an hour. Nothin' doing. Couple tepid bites but no takers. By then, it was well after dark... Dark everywhere but in the circle of light from a streetlight I was standing under.

Was just about to give up, when something suddenly hammers my bait and screams off around the pond. Ran me hither and yon in a 15-minute give and take of line that seemed mere seconds from ending in a snapped line multiple times.

Finally get the fish close to shore and see it's a big channel cat. He had swam through so much muck and algae though, that I could barely see him under the thick slime that rings the pond. With the fish tuckered enough to make a play for him, I reached down over the bank, lifted the line enough to get a grip on him and............ SNAP!

Oh, the cursing that rang out through that sleepy neighborhood. Snapped my line while reaching for him. Light-up bobber snapped off the line too and was floating a foot or two off shore.

So, naturally, I did what any fisherman would: 1) curse; 2) curse some more; 3) drop my rod in disgust; and finally, 4) eventually reach in to pull out my light-up bobber...

...and as I do, I see the algae and muck move. A little movement. It's so dark though, I can't tell if it's my fish, a snapping turtle or an angry muskrat. So, I pick up my rod, poke it into the muck and swirl it around a little. I pull the rod tip out and there... is... my... snapped fishing line... wrapped around the tip of my pole!

Reached down with my free hand and grabbed the loose line and realize the cat was still on it... Pulled him ashore hand-over-hand like the Old Man and the Sea. Craziest catch I've ever had. Managing to land a fish by hand AFTER it snapped the line. Crazy.

Turns out he truly was the proverbial "big fish in a little pond". Went about 23-24" and 5+ pounds, easy, I'm guessing...

Took a quick snap and returned him to the micro-pond to fight another day.

Now that was a fun catch.