47 was my best day but 30-40 was the norm for me. Keep in mind this was only 4-5 times a year though...not every weekend. After tearing through those 47 that one time, my electric knife was too hot to hold....made me lol at the moment. I got pretty quick about cleaning them that one year...took me about an hour...hour and 10 minutes to filet 47. Get a nice sharp short blade to start the skin on each side, catfish skinners, and electric knife and you're good to go.
And if the catfish population was like the shad, you wouldn't hear me complaining. After I catch all I can eat for the summer and winter, I fish with poles. I'm getting my boat set up for drift fishing right now. Locate a hole with many fish showing and drift over it once or twice....that's the plan anyway. I'm sure I'll learn as I go. My boy is almost old enough to go noodling with me.....will try that next year.
BTW: I've never been to Settler's Trace....only Chowning. I've never been down the lake past Chowning but once and had a bad time in a cove so never went back. I was right in the middle of the cove...70-80 yards from shore, water 20 ft or so and got hung up on a submerged tree. Finally got the boat off it after 10-15 minutes or so. I was getting ready to jump in and pull it off when I got it loose finally. That incident left bad vibes with me for a long time. What if I had hit that tree at any speed? live and learn




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