Mr. Whiskers returns and you will never guess what happened to him

"oh hai! my name iz mr wiskers!"

Sitting by the campfire on Saturday night at along Potomac River, Karen said, "You haven't caught a catfish in awhile."

Pondering that for a bit, I couldn't remember the last time Mr. Whiskers found me. Probably our 2020 road trip where we fished Lewis and Clark Lake (Missouri River) on the Nebraska-South Dakota border. (I don't write this blog for its tens of views -- I write it so I can "remember" stuff like this.)

This is foreshadowing.

Sunday morning, waking bright and early, ambling down from our campsite to wade in the Potomac River, before I even stepped foot in the water, I spotted a wee catfish cruising around a rock.

More foreshadowing.

After about 45 minutes casting a Cabela's swimbait and a River2Sea Whopper Plopper, I didn't have a bite. But my persistence rewarded me with a hard strike after firing the swimbait toward a dark formation of submerged rocks in the middle of the river. This was an actual smallmouth bass that looked to be around 12 inches.

Smallmouth bass clearing the area before Mr. Whiskers showed up.

With only one other bite the entire time, I glanced at the fish watch and saw it had been almost two hours since dipping my toes in the river. Figuring maybe only another five or 10 minutes before heading back to the campsite, I made a few more casts. Again making long casts with the swimbait near the middle of the river, something grabbed on. The fish wallowed on the surface, and I could see that distinctive dorsal fin -- catfish.

It was a good "eatin' size" so I decided to do just that -- keep it for fileting! Catfish is among my favorite freshwater fish to eat. Walleye > perch > catfish. Although I haven't had crappie or sunfish for a long, long time.

This was also in the general area where a catfish stole a Whopper Plopper a few years ago. Who needs chicken livers when you can use swimbaits and topwater lures?!

That catfish and the smallmouth weren't the only fish I caught over the weekend. 

After arriving at the campsite on Saturday, I went upriver and caught a 12-inch smallmouth on the same flavor of Cabela's swimbait that would land Mr. Whiskers and another 12-inch smallmouth the next day. However, a smallmouth that was around 16 inches missed a picture-taking opportunity when the line snapped just as I was about ready to "lip" the fish. The fish put up a good tussle and had briefly burrowed into the rocky bottom, and the line frayed at the knot. "Snap!" and the fish was gone.

First fish of the weekend, a 12-inch smallmouth bass.

I also had a few more misses Saturday, but those fish merely unhooked themselves.

The Whopper Plopper yielded a couple blowups (which I think was the same fish) Saturday at dusk. My gut told me topwaters would be killing it since the river was so low and clear, but the fish thought otherwise.

Next up is our annual roadtrip with a date set again with RainyDaze Guide Service on Rainy Lake bordering Minnesota and Canada. We fished with them first in 2019 and then again in 2021. They have been posting pictures on their Facebook page of beast walleye and northern pike, so hopefully there are some left when we get there!

Bonus content:

Nah, you guys can have that spot.

Mr. Whiskers was rewarded as dinner.

Sunrise on the Potomac.

Smallmouth bass free their oppressor (me) on the 4th of July

Sunrise on the Potomac River.

The Potomac River smallmouth bass declared their freedom today in the pursuit of life, liberty and crayfish!

Or something like that. 

Karen and I camped overnight at 15 Mile Creek Campground on the historic C&O Canal, and I hit the river around 6:15 a.m. this morning hoping to escape the oppressive humidity.

The sun was still trying to peak over the hills, and clouds would keep it mostly at bay for awhile.

First cast with a Heddon Super Spook (the middle brother between the Zara Puppy and Zara Spook) was greeted with a typical topwater blowup! That left the lure floating on the surface. I tried a couple more casts and couldn't get the fish -- any fish -- to bite.

I switched to my other rod with a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper and was zeroing in on "slick" water behind some barely protruding rocks. After five or so casts, there was ever-so-slight resistance on the other end. Either the lure bumped a rock or it was fish. I pulled back on the rod, and the resistance stayed there as I kept reeling.

Sometimes smallmouth hit subtly, and I don't think they realize they are hooked. They swim in the direction you're reeling (sometimes this could also be a stick!).

Until they realize the trickery. In this instance, I cast upstream, got the hit, this fish got a bit downstream from me then started fighting. It swam back upstream, made a couple jumps -- and looked to be about a 12-inch smallmouth -- before freeing itself from the hook.

This same scenario happened three more times over the next 90 minutes. Hook a fish after a light bite, reel frantically until the fish suspected something was up, a couple jumps, and then the fish was gone.

FOUR TIMES I had fish on, could identify the species and roughly the size after they breeched the water, and FOUR TIMES they declared their freedom. I couldn't even oppress them for a few seconds for a picture.

Bonus content: The trouble with trebles

I'll make this a two-parter going back a couple weeks ago just so I can post a picture of an actual fish. This was from the Little Patuxent and was the only fish I caught on a Sunday morning the day after autocrossing my Camaro.

The trouble with trebles. Even with removing the trailing treble hook
on a topwater lure, releasing a tiny smallmouth bass was a challenge.

I've mentioned removing the trailing trebles on "stick" lures because smallmouth bass always seem to get part of the leading treble hooked in the corner of their mouths. 

Not this little one. All three hooks from the front treble were in its tiny mouth. I struggled for about 45 seconds trying to get the treble free -- pushing the hooks further in its mouth, but it was so small there wasn't any room. 

I dropped the fish back in the water, and let it swim for a few seconds. Pulled it back up, and the part of the treble that was in its bottom lip was free! The other two parts of the treble were in its upper lip, but they were easy to remove now.