I sent this picture to a couple of friends with the title..."Can you say BIG FISH??" and they both came back and said "UGLY FISH!!!" Hmmmm....ugly fish?? how about "Unique Fish"?. This fish is a spoonbill paddle fish and this is the time of year they migrate up missouri rivers to spawn. It's also the type of fish that caviar is made from....
Generally, I share some tips and techniques but this time, I thought I'd share a little bit of the personal side of life. When Im not in my studio and when it's warm enough (okay...that's an understatement - it was frigid the day I caught this fish) Im usually hanging with the family on some farm pond fishin for bluegill, catfish, bass - sometimes snake...... just about anything that will hit on a hook and worm.
It's been about 3 years since my husband Dana and I have taken a "get away" just to ourselves. He'd been wanting to go "snaggin" for quite sometime, so he booked us a guide and a couple nights stay at the (get this...) "
Old Oar House Inn" and we headed to the Lake of the Ozarks.
For those of you not familiar with snaggin, basically, you take a couple of huge treble hooks about a foot apart with a weight tied on the end and drop it in the water as you troll the bottom, all the while you are "yanking" the hooks thru the water in hopes to land the big monster. (a major calorie burner - much more fun than the treadmill....) I asked Anthony our guide what it would feel like when I snagged the fish and he said - "feels like you just snagged a car!" He was right!!!! and HANG ON!!!!You're goin for a ride - backwards - as you reel as fast as you can towards the fish. Believe it or not, this fish is by far NOT THE BIGGEST - it only weighed 30 lbs, but I was happy with it anyways - he was a KEEPER! and my first keeper of the day. Dana's biggest was a female weighing just over 50lbs.
Anthony did a fantastic job as a guide - we had our limit by noon and we warmed up at the Ole Oar House bar & grill. If you like the movie "Grumpy ole men" then you'll love this place - It's quite a hoot! If you go - say hi to John Boy and Ben for us - a couple of retired guys who love to play practical jokes....and dont forget to check out Anthony's website at
www.catfishingguide.com and make sure to tell him who sent you. Oh...and bring your catfish bait too - you'll catch a whole mess down by the cleanin station!
That's all for now....back to beading........................................
In my traveling, I've met many fans of the "Carol Duvall Show" who've expressed their disappointment in hearing that the show is a thing of the past. I too was disappointed to see the show removed from HGTV's programming line up beginning in February.
