Goiter Cats

Though it was raining (as usual) my friend, Tom came a-knockin' at the front door. I saw his reflection peaking thru the front window off the screen of my laptop as I was doing some photo editing. He asked if I wanted to go fishing? Like anyone even has to ask!! He wanted to have some fun, get away for awhile before boarding the plane for Florida the following afternoon. So we geared up, put on some waterproof coats and headed down to the local pond to do some 'goiter cat' fishing. Though it has been cold and still snowing/sleeting/hailing/raining some guys have been catching some. 'Da catfish, deh be a movin' I was told by the Russian guy whom I've seen there many times over the summer. But the water was extremely cold, the fish sluggish, but I still wanted to get a chance to use my new GoPro Black. (insert link here later)

Example of a Goiter Cat

Paul dimed the name 'goiter cat' for the pond's catfish with their unique mouth and under chin deformities, probably from many generations of inbreeding. Walker Pond is a catch & release pond. I usually try to go for the big ellusive grass carp. 

36 inch grass carp

Carp are very smart and shy. Great sport. Catfish put up a good fight and will eat just about anything. Carp are picky and more of a challenge. The grass carp is an invasive species to North America. The common carp don't usually get as large, especially in a pond. But I have caught some huge commons in Lake Erie in the past. They tend to have a thicker girth and are more powerful.

Tom and I did not catch anything at the pond, just a handful of bites here & there. But it was good to hang out, and later that night we put back a few cold ones with some pirate rum.

'There are good ships and wood ships, and ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, may they ever be!!' Will be a sad day when he finally moves to Florida in June. But friends we will always be...