Big Blue meets Catawba Cat
| Catawba moped into the River City Tackle Shop. His mismatched camouflaged fishing outfit was dripping wet. He had that wild stare in his eyes. His grim face was dripping with perspiration and his body was shaking like a tarpon on the end of flyrod. Sam the bait man, remarked "seen a ghost?" "NO.... Lost a big blue." Sam handed him a cup of coffee, and suggested that he chill out for a few minutes. "Catawba", said Sam, you've caught more world record cats than anyone! Why does losing this one have you so upset?" Catawba didn't answer, he was shaking so bad that all of the coffee spilled from his cup. He started sobbing and whimpered softly to himself. "I had him, I had him! Than something happened .....I don't know why, it just happened." Sam, thought to himself, it would take losing a mighty big catfish to make Catawba act this way. Three cups of coffee latter, two on the floor and one in his stomach. Catawba finally pulled himself together enough to spin his latest catfish yarn. He began his tale by saying. "Sam, you remember me telling you about that big flathead I caught, don't you. The one I got on that deer hunting trip?" The bait man nodded. "And Sam, don't you remember the thousand pounder my Deere brother lost after an all night battle?" Sam, nodded again. "Well, Sam this one's different. It was bigger, tougher and bluer than any that I have ever encountered. The cat was twice as long as my jonboat and thicker than a double wide trailer. It swam faster than a Polaris Missile and looked like Moby Dicks' big brother when it breeched. "I knew he was big, I saw him snatch a calf from the bank the other day. I should have taken someone with me. But, I remembered the time when that outdoor writer cost me a big one. You know him, don't you Sam?" The guy that got "Buck Fever" when it came time to gaff a hundred pound blue." Sam nodded one more time. Catawba continued, "I knew where this one was. He hit a whole mullet on the first drop. Then it was on. The surface exploded when the blue cat leaped out of the water. The wake from the splash almost swamped the boat. Then he took line for a while, until he turned and made a beeline back toward the boat. Sam, the only time I heard of anything like this was when that white whale rammed the Pequod in that Captain Ahab book. You remember that one, don't you?" Sam nodded once more. "Well, how did it get away, Catawba stop messing around. Please tell me what happened ." "Sam, you will not believe it, and this is no lie." I didn't lose that catfish, it lost me." "Shortly after the catfish rammed the boat, it took me into its mouth, then spit me out. Only to swallow me again. By now, we were three miles down river. I don't know how I was able to breath, but some how I did. I don't think he was trying to kill me. Maybe just teaching me a lesson for catching so many of his brethren. Who really knows for sure. Finally he opened his mouth and I was able to swim away. Then, I must have passed out, because I don't know how I got up on the river bank. Lucky, I guess." Just as Catawba was finishing his tale, a customer appeared at the counter. He purchased a couple of dozen nightcrawlers before asking Sam if he had seen the latest movie. The one about the mutant catfish that swallowed a fisherman that was trying to catch him. Be reminded that small fish have ..................Large Tales! Captain Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc. is a member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association and a full time Professional Fishing Guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, Fishin' with Gus! at http://www.fishingwithgus.com/ or call 704 617 6812. For additional information, e-mail him at Gus@LakeNorman.com. |
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