So far we have only suffered irritability during this pandemic. I am a healthcare provider, and after we isolated our vulnerable family members, I have resumed clinical practice because of the need in the community. In addition, we didn't feel like we could turn down work with a sharp recession.
But after everyone else has been together for three weeks, we needed to get out. I took a mild risk in taking my kids out to go fishing at a local, usually desolate, creek.
Casting contrarian
I target species that others don't. While I enjoy the sport of fishing, I've never understood the purpose of catching bass or trophy catfish when the goal is catch and release. If I am going to put time and a modest amount of money into a hobby, I want to see at least some ROI. So I target panfish and smaller catfish which are the best for eating and relatively abundant in our waters.
Social distancing on the creek bank
I should have predicted this, but my normally desolate access had at least 20 people there when the sun came up. To avoid the crowds (mostly because of the competition), we hiked down a small tributary from the main river. My kids and I took turns running a 7 ft catfish rig and an ultralight panfish rod and reel. Or I should say I did >95% of the work and they ran around in the dirt and prickers. For bait we used worms from the compost and spoiled bacon.
I'm not a great fisherman (I peaked at the age of 12) so I was very happy when we caught two bullhead catfish. Many people consider these trash fish. I love them. They thrive in a variety of conditions and are a good eater size. There is a stigma about eating them. It might be that, like other omnivores, bullheads eat a lot of different food including dead fish. I've heard there is a big difference between bullheads caught in spring fed creeks and bullheads caught in farm ponds. Who knows, there is no accounting for taste.
Using every part
I quickly skinned them using this method. I soak the bone-in meat overnight in a salt water solution in the fridge. We'll cook them tomorrow for Sunday dinner.
We fed the scraps to the chickens. I put the heads in a jarto make fish oil for trapping lure for next winter. Alternative uses include chicken scrap or burying a couple feet in the garden as fertilizer.
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