06-03-2014, 03:37 AM
I fished Cutler Marsh this evening. Cast out a big chunk of carp meat, and sat down to eat some dinner and provide some for the mosquitoes. Didn't have to wait too long for my only fish of the night, which was a respectable 26 inch cat. Not the biggest fish, but nice and fat.
It had a very large belly, but some swollen looking lips and a very wide head. When I cut it open, the eggs were hinting that it was not a male. Oh well, still going to be lunch for a couple of days this week, and the kids still believe Dad doesn't make mistakes.
I looked in the stomach of one last week, and found several crawdads, so I was curious to see what this had in such a swollen gut (and yes, it was swollen, not just with eggs). I cut the stomach, and there was a crawdad in there, but my daughter commented it looked like there was hair.
I know mice have been recommended as a bait for big nighttime fish, so I assumed this one had gotten lucky. I saw a foot and was a little surprised by the size. I opened the belly up the rest of the way and saw how big it was. This cat had a muskrat in its belly. Now I don't claim it chased and caught it, the upper half of the muskrat was either digested or chewed up, but it was still a very respectable size for that fish to swallow. In the last pic you can see a piece of spine at the two inch mark, and without straightening the body, what is left measured an easy 8 inches.
I guess I won't worry about throwing too big a chunk of bait from here on out.
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It had a very large belly, but some swollen looking lips and a very wide head. When I cut it open, the eggs were hinting that it was not a male. Oh well, still going to be lunch for a couple of days this week, and the kids still believe Dad doesn't make mistakes.
I looked in the stomach of one last week, and found several crawdads, so I was curious to see what this had in such a swollen gut (and yes, it was swollen, not just with eggs). I cut the stomach, and there was a crawdad in there, but my daughter commented it looked like there was hair.
I know mice have been recommended as a bait for big nighttime fish, so I assumed this one had gotten lucky. I saw a foot and was a little surprised by the size. I opened the belly up the rest of the way and saw how big it was. This cat had a muskrat in its belly. Now I don't claim it chased and caught it, the upper half of the muskrat was either digested or chewed up, but it was still a very respectable size for that fish to swallow. In the last pic you can see a piece of spine at the two inch mark, and without straightening the body, what is left measured an easy 8 inches.
I guess I won't worry about throwing too big a chunk of bait from here on out.
[signature]
