Down at the Scum Pond

4/16/2010

After reading a post on the internet about some rather large kitties being caught down at the local scum pond, I started thinking about trying something different. I had been planning on going after some ice-off trout in Idaho, but I had yard work to do, and I just wasn't going to have time. While raking up some debris, I discovered some worms, and my decision was made for me. I collected some bait and packed up my gear. I first tried the boat launch nearest to the house, but I wasn't too impressed. Something stole my bait after 30 minutes, but that wasn't enough to keep my interest. I drove down to a highway bridge that usually holds some fish, and made my way down to the water. Suddenly, everywhere I looked there were snakes sliding down the hill as I approached. One brave little trooper took a stand and refused to slither away.

I passed through the gauntlet of garter snakes, and chucked my worm out. Before I even got a chance to cast out my jig on the other rod, I had a bite. I quickly reeled in this little feller.

I caught a couple more of them, and then I realized that my larger nightcrawlers were all gone. I decided to try some preserved shad that I had. They seem like they should work, but I still haven't caught anything on them, and today was no different. About the time I lobbed the stinky fish out into the drink, a crazy couple in an old 1960's speed boat came under the bridge and proceeded to zoom around in circles for about 15 minutes. Well, nothing happened on the fish front for 15 minutes. They eventually left, and I ditched the dead minnow. I scrounged through my worm container and found a decent sized worm. Almost immediately I had a strike, and this one actually put up a little tussle. Certainly not a ten pounder like the ones I'd been hearing about, but marginally better.

I couldn't find any large worms, so I gobbed on a bunch of little ones. I quickly felt another tap tap on my rod, and to my surprise it was a channel cat, but far from ten pounds.

Things dropped off after that. The vintage boaters came back, so I switched to the other side of the bridge. It looked interesting, but in the ten minutes I fished it, I broke off a jig and my catfish rig. I'll have to come back to that spot when I have more time, and I'll have to find some carp meat and big crawlers.

Final Tally: 6 Bullhead, 1 Channel Catfish

Year Tally: 136 Fish