I know D. Dan fishes quite a bit and I'm sure many others here do too. I used to several years back before it was important to spend so much time defending the neighborhood and the countryside from cats. I fished for largemouth bass and had a great time. Late in the summer here, the game was to fish the lakeshore structures such as docks, sun decks, crappie brushpiles, boathouses and so on. You you would be suprised at the lakeshore "stuff" out there as you electric-motored around the lake shore, rod in hand. I even saw nekkid ladies in their back yards, and CATS, Cats, and more cats. The cats were all over the yards, docks, decks, piers, moored boats, and swimming platforms(how the hell they got out there I don't know). Sometimes if I flipped a spinner bait or other lure, without being real concentrated it would get hung up. You know how it is. One time a nice lady put her top back on and got up and unhooked my bait off the end of her big beach towel. Smiled too. Another one didn't say anything, just cut my bait off the line, showed me the bird, but didn't put her top on either. But back to the cats. I was thinking about setting up a small jon boat with a fighting chair, going around the lake and casting/flipping/fishing for some of those cats lounging around all over.

Wow. How do you do it? When my new wife and I went on a cruise in November, the boat had a very top deck where it was "clothing optional" sunbathing ...

before I went up there, my wife went up to "scout things out", then came right back down and did NOT want me going up there ...

even got *highly upset* with me when I wanted to go up, "take a quick look around" and see what the big deal was, and just downright mad when I was joking about it later...

Although, I do remember a time back several years ago when I was a boy-scout, we were all out canoeing down a river and just quietly floating along, when we rounded a bend and saw a guy and his wife out on a sand-bar in the buff. The wife had a towel over her face and the guy was reading and drinking a beer.

As all of us 13 and 14 year old scouts floated past the guy just held his beer up to us and waved. I don't know about the other scouts, but I had never seen anything like that in-person, and there wasn't a paddle touching the water as we floated by on that current, not wanting to risk spooking any of the wildlife and all.

Ned, I imagine you could do quite well with one of those top-water mouse baits for bass.

However, I wonder about choice of line, since you may have to contend with some "abrasiveness" from the claws. I think ordinary mono would shred, but a braided line might get easily hooked into. How about carbon fibre line?

Also, treble hook, or big siwash hook?

What about bait scents? Is bait allowed?

Do you go for a short, stout rod with lots of backbone for yankin' em outa the weeds, or do you go with a long stream rod with light line, expecting a long fight?

Is snagging allowed?

I've got 26 fishing rods at home. So many choices.

Maybe I should just use the cane pole cra(tt)y rod?

Better use the stout stuff Fischer, crats got a lot of traction even if they're short winded. Personally anything short of a 10# is too light for anything other than big parking lots.

The weedless double hook often used on top water bass plugs is a winner on crats! Buzzbaits scare 'em as much as anything else. Some worms work, some don't. Crats with snake experience are a bit shy of them. Don't ask how I know these things.

Dan

Pres., TYHC

www.Pocket.Fisherman

I've got some 1/8" steel leader material I could donate to the cause. I don't get out shark fishing much anymore...and if it'll stand up to shark teeth, it might be JUST tough enough to handle the saber tooth lawn lion.

Think a 12/0 welded eye hook is enough, and should I break out the 50 Wide with 80# Trilene Big Game?

www.SortaHard.ToCast

Ben it was easy to do. After I got wifey a double masters she was smarter than me and so ran off with an internationally famous Argentine Tango dancer, never to return. Thus I was free to fish, hunt, drink beer, and otherwise follow my own inclinations. Fischer, I used a light spinning reel with a floating jerk bait or a small buzz bait on those expeditions where I made the bad casts and hooked those ladies bathing towels. I'm not sure what to use when I start flipping for cats since they were in and on all types of cover all over. Perhaps Dan is right about a short stout rod and a weedless double hook. I'll get some genuine dollar store red chinese stuffed cat toys to bury the hooks in and use a little catnip bait on them, they already got squeakers. But I don't want to get too heavy a tackle kit and I'm sure I'll need a short wire leader like for a pike. Teeth, you know. I still have to be able to pull 'em out of heavy cover . Oh, that reminds me to get a nice new billy to stop the flopping about part. Keeps a person from getting accidentally hooked after you gaff 'em. I will likely outfit with several different kits and rods untill I find out what works. Let me know if anyone has any related catfishing expereience. Where is Babe the cat fisher when I need him?

Let's see if I get this cat fishing idea correctly. From a chair on my front porch I cast across the street into my neigbors yard and land my mouse shaped plug where the cats can see it. I do a slow jerky retrieve to entice a cat to strike. When one jumps on the mouse I rear back and set the hook but refrain from yelling "Get the net, I got one on". While fighting the four pound fur ball I manage to drag him out into the
street. I ease off a bit and hope that traffic nails him a time or two to take some of the fight out of him.
When he gets close to my porch I get out the gaff and impale him like a tuna. I get him up on the porch and
find out he is undersized so I toss him back into the neighbor's yard and re-cast in hopes of getting a bigger one next time. Do I have to have a special cat-fishing license, or do I just use my cougar tag?

Your cougar tag is adequate OEH. There is a fix available for the undersized ones, it's called a "shark dart". It has a hollow needle(large) on the end, and a CO2 cartridge inside. Kinda inflates the little bastards if you get my drift. It's not legal for tournament fishing in Texas though, be forewarned.

Dan

Pres., TYHC

www.PuffedUp.Fluffy

I think you got it OEH. I guess you could just put your boots on and wade over there and get one with a frog gig too. That way you could be more selective. Or you could just put the smaller ones in the cooler. Several would make a nice "cat Boil" if you had all the fixins. Several of the guys here are archers and have reel setups on their bows. Although you need a saltwater or a freshwater license here for fishing nothing special is required to take cats, just don't get caught with carp or gar in your cooler if you get checked. Goo d luck, N.S.