I’ve been fishing quite a bit within the past couple of weeks, all in hopes of catching some mondos. The Arizona heat is still proving to be, well, hot, even through into mid-September. I’ve had the chance to catch quite a few very large tilapia, one or two 2-3lb catfish, and ZERO carp – it doesn’t matter how hard I try, I can’t catch a carp in these AZ community waters.
A good friend of mine and I recently went fishing at one of my local waters, in hopes to not only catch some good sized fish, but also in attempt to catch some volume. We showed up at daybreak, rods ready in anticipation for some good fishing.
The morning did not disappoint as we began to absolutely slay fish. Using nothing but my secret bait, I started to count my catches…1,2,3,4…
4 small catfish in roughly 30 minutes were under my belt. I usually never count fish unless I’m keeping them, but today I decided to see just how many I could catch – if I couldn’t catch something large, than I wanted a high volume of fish, and these were the perfect conditions to do so.
5,6,7 fish, including the smallest catfish I’ve ever caught. The action was hot, and I was on top of my game. I should take this moment to mention that I made the decision to buy some quality hooks of smaller size for catfishing. I’d always used cheap Eagle Claw hooks, knowing that my hookup percentage is negatively effected, but I always tend to lose them. With that said, I pay partial tribute to my success on this day due to my new Gamakatsu hooks - size 4 Octopus hooks.
10,11,12 fish, though the action now started to slow. My hypothesis is that these fish tend to stay together in almost linear-like schools, circling the bank and significant features within the water. I believe this is true because the bite will come in cycles, and fisherman within 50 feet of each other will begin to catch fish at the same time, only to be followed by 10-30 minutes of zero action.
14,15,16 fish had been landed at this point, including the largest catch of the day, which was a 1.22lber – not huge, but it still beat all the other small fish I had caught for the day.
18,19,20 fish were caught as my friend hooked into a good fish, ironically in an area that I fished earlier with no success. The longest fight of the day proved to provide a solid 2lb 3oz cat, a fish to finally exceed my personal 2lb weight minimum to keep catfish. He decided, however, to release the fish.
22,23,24 fish as the day continued to become hotter and the action continued to slow. It was mid- morning by this point, and I had a personal goal of 30 fish for the outing, and I wouldn’t leave without hitting it.
27,28,29 fish had now been caught. I was so close to my goal, but the action was now few and far between as the temperature rose into the 100s. I just needed one more!
I was feeling defeat as I began to pack my tackle backpack. I had hooks, bait, and weights everywhere, and I was trying to get organized with all of my tackle. It was at this moment that I heard an ever-so slight noise – a noise that was unnatural, and had to be a something of man-made origin. What was the noise?
It was line peeling off of my open-bailed reel.
I ran over to my rod, closed the bail, lightly set the hook, and fish number 30 was on the end of my line. It was small, as most of the fish were, but I was excited to have reached my goal of 30 fish for the morning. Between myself and my friend, we caught 40 fish in a matter of about 4 hours – not too shabby, if I say so myself.