brought home four more squirrels from work today. I was planning on releasing them into a nearby woods but after I seen how tame they were and had them crawling all over me that I decided that it would probably be best to release them in my back yard. . I had two of them sitting on my shoulder and two that made it half way up my pants. Then they followed me all around the yard chasing me and the kids.
Submitted by Scott Fuqua
Ive been procrastinating long enough about building myself a live well and some bait traps. So today I started off with working on the live well. I just took a 35 gallon barrel and cut the top off. I made sure to leave the ridge on at the top because this makes it more durable and prevents the barrel from loosing its shape over time. I then drilled 2 holes about 6 inches down from the top and about 9 inches apart. for the air hoses. Along the ridge of the barrel I cut out a little slot about an inch long and 1/2 inch wide to hang my 2-1/2 Way Gang Valve ($4.48).
For the pump I used a Aqua Culture 20-60 Gallon Aquarium Air Pump ($10.57). I picked this pump because it was rated for 30 to 60 gallon tanks and has a double air outlet. Luckily this pump had a loop at the top that I used to bolt the pump on the side of the barrel. I ran 2 air lines ( 25 feet for $3.12) from the pump to check valves and then up to the gang valve. ( I had to drill a hole in the middle of the valve and run a bolt through to make it more sturdy.) I then ran a line to each off the Aqua Culture Bubble Aquarium Stones ($1.78). I then used Velcro strips ($1.00) to attach the air lines to the side of the barrel. Over all this project went very well and cost just under $25 to build which is well worth it. In the near future I may add a filtration system but for now I don’t plan on keeping many minnow or chubs for too long.
For the bait traps I just used 2 litter bottles that I had saved. Im not going to go into detail but you can do a search for 2 liter minnow traps and find several videos on how to make them. They are probably the easiest and cheapest traps that you can make.
Submitted by Scott Fuqua
I decided to try to come up with a few new concoctions for making homemade catfish bait. Now if your going to try any of these, make sure you have an old blender that you don’t really want as a few of these new recipes require a blender I would also recommend using latex gloves.
For the first one I decided to try to find a way to incorporate chicken liver as one of the main ingredients due to the fact that I have often had really good luck with it but the downfall is that it easily comes off the hook.
Ingredients:
1 lb. of chicken liver
6 cups Wheaties
1/3 cup of parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of used bacon grease
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 ts Anise
Directions:
Blend the Wheaties, parmesan cheese and oatmeal together in the blender and mix, then put into a bowl and set aside. Next take the remaining ingredients and mix in the blender until you get a pulp like consistency. Now combine both the wet and dry ingredients together into a bowl and mix by hand until its got a thick dough like consistency. take a spoon full of bait and roll it into the desired size of balls that you want.
This tends to make a lot so take out what you are planning on using for that day and place the rest into a baggy or container and freeze till you need it again.
Met up with my buddy Shawn Wright today and it turned out to be a pretty decent day of fishing. I thought it was going to start raining the entire time we was out there but the dark clouds just passed right over us and the wind was kept on howling. Shawn landed a monster catfish that went 30 1/2 inches long and weighed just over 15 pounds. I ended up with 3 bluegill, 2 catfish and a perch.
Submitted by Scott Fuqua
Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup crackers, crushed
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 pounds catfish
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/8 teaspoon liquid hot pepper sauce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow or flat bowl combine 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons water; beat well and set aside. In another shallow or flat bowl, combine 1/2 cup crushed crackers, 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning; set aside. Dip 2 pounds catfish in the egg mixture, then in the seasoned cracker crumbs, coating well. Transfer to a greased baking dish and drizzle 2 tablespoons melted butter on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine 3 chopped green onions, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce, and 1/8 teaspoon liquid hot pepper sauce. Simmer for 3 minutes then pour over the cooked catfish.
