Catawba Cat & Deere John
| Catawba Cat, holds more catfish world records than any other angler on earth. He has so many in fact, that he was running out of world record class catfish to catch. That is why he teamed up with a state biologist and together they discovered twelve new species of cats. Worldwide there had always been 100 different types of True Catfish. Thanks to their new findings, anglers now have one hundred and twelve breeds of cats to fish catch. As famous a cat fisherman as Catawba is, his brother "Deere John" is a equally famous hunter. Deere John is famous for tracking and killing thousand pound hogs, trapping blue tailed fox, golden wolves and even albino coyotes. Some might recall a story in one of those duck hunting magazines about him shooting waterfowl on or near Jane Fonda's plantation in Coastal South Carolina. Seldom do the brothers ever get together to fish or hunt. But, last May they had fishing on their minds. They met at a fish camp on Santee Cooper. Catawba wanted to impress his brother Deere, so he took him to the diversion cannel to catch a few bait mullet. They were fishing snatch hooks tied to ten pound test spinning outfits. The first mullet Deere John snagged took off like a scalded wildcat. It broke the light line before it had time to travel fifteen feet. Catawba went back to the truck and got a twenty pound rig. A big mullet broke the line again. The only tackle left was the eighty pound gear that Catawba used to catch his world record catfish. It was to heavy to cast, so he just slung the big gang hook into the cannel and started reeling like crazy. Within, minutes a half dozen mullet were collected. They varied in size up to thirty-six pounds. That is when Catawba said. "Lets go sturgeon fishing!!!!!!!!!!" "Sturgeon in South Carolina? Give me a break", said Deere John. "Yes", Catawba said. "There are sturgeon, and they are biggest of all freshwater fish in Santee Cooper". He explained that rumors had surfaced from time to time, that the Department of Natural Resources had stocked "Olympian Russian Sturgeon" in the lower lake in the late 1940's. Catawba reckoned, that they ought to be really big by now, maybe a thousand pounds or more. So they took their tub full of mullet to the deep water near the power plant. Catawba tail hooked a mullet and lobbed it as far away from the bank as he could. The twenty-pound mullet looked like a striper splashing on the waters surface. Immediately, the big bait headed toward Charleston Harbor. It didn't get far before a gigantic explosion sent a plume of water thirty feet into the South Carolina sky. Catawba's, Deere brother set the hook and held on tightly to the rod. It took all of Deere John's strength just to keep from getting pulled into the water. The battle lasted for hours. The unknown prey splashed every now and than but never cleared the water. Catawba couldn't figure out what was hooked. He hoped it was a sturgeon, but wasn't sure. All he knew, was that Deere John had never seen an animal that was any bigger than this one. Day turned into night and the epic battle continued. At no time has a freshwater fish fought so hard for so long. As the sun rose, the fish appeared to be tiring, it was closer to the bank than it had ever been. Soon it was close enough to see the enormous scales on its back. Scales the size of giant Moon Pies. Catawba's Deere Brother continued to apply pressure on the fish. Finally, they saw the fury in its eyes. About that time the fish saw John and went ballistic. That's when Catawba stuck the fish with his gaff. The fish rolled over and over until it yanked the gaff out of Catawba's hands. Than a loud explosion sounded. It was the nosie made when Deere Johns eighty pound test line broke. The fish swirled before disappearing below the waters surface. The brothers were tired and shaken, but relieved that they weren't killed during what turn out to be a horrific experience. After the waters settled and everyone's nerves settled down, Catawba examined the remaining end of the parted line. What he found was slim, catfish slime. The last thirty feet of line was coated with globs of dripping slime. Later, the state biologist confirmed what Catawba had surmised all along. His Deere brother had fought and lost what would have been a new world record blue catfish. The monster that got away probably exceeded a thousand pounds. Most anglers shrugged off the tale of the battle as just another of Catawba's yarns. Siting the fact that catfish didn't have scales, particularly scales the size of moon pies. Catawba counters the disbelievers by agreeing with them. He tells them, "eating size catfish don't have scales, but thousand pounders do". ...........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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| October 2005 |