My friend wanted me to go fishing with him...we went out to an old farm lake with some hotdogs and two poles. 15 minutes after throwing the line in, while listening to "Hotel California", this channel cat strikes:


Those are some little bass a younger kid who came along with us caught.

We didn't know what it weighed, but we knew it was real nice for a channel cat. After making the rounds to the closest people we could find, I threw out my line the second time. As soon as we turned on "Hotel California", another one took the bait! Don't have a picture of it alone, but it's the longer one on the left.


It put up a heck of a fight. I let my friend have the pole after it surfaced and I saw it was just as big, if not bigger than the last. I jumped in the lake to go get it, as soon as I saw it, the hook flies out and goes zinging past my head. I guess the big cat didn't know what happened, he gave me just enough time to jump on him before it started struggling. I look like my hands went through a meat grinder but I hung on. Luckily I didn't pull a Steve Irwin with the spines...

Here's me and my friend. He's 6'4".


Of course we weighed them, with honest adults around.


First one was real thick.


Second one was a bit longer and heavier.

I have the skulls drying with their mouths propped open, hopefully they will stay like that once everything rots off. All hot dogs were put on by my friend, he really is the "master baiter".

That's gonna be your theme song! Neat story, on a cane pole? Bet they taste good--and can feed the whole neighborhood!