Conference wahoo::fishing

    kmac.. 
    
    I live in New hampshire but I am a memeber of the south hadley
    sportsmen club....
    
    I thought I read in there news letter where they are having a catfish
    tournament in the conn river. This wouldn't by chance be derby that
    you are going to???
    
    Well a couple a years ago one of the regulars was reading
    one of those fishing papers where in one of those pagea that is
    dedicated to fishing tips sugested to try "IVORY SOAP"
    
    All the guys laughed when he went in and came out with ivory
    soap.. He was the fool or was he.
    
    He ended up catching the largest fish and more than twice as
    many fish as the nearest competitor.
     There will be more people using IVORY this year..
    
    bear.
    

    As a recent graduate of UMass Amherst and a lifetime resident of
    Springfield, I have been fishing the CT for about 15 years and the
    two best things you can use are Ivory Soap (see -1) and CHICKEN
    LIVER, left to stink for about two days.  Any more and all you'll
    catch is eels as the stink is even too much for the catfish.  Biggest
    I caught was 9lbs, avg = 4lbs.
    
    have fun!
    
    (fish where the water is moving the slowest)
    
    
    Tim
    

    
>    PS. ****ed off my buddy a couple of days ago. He took me
>    out to the Conn. (to teach me how to fish) and I shunked him.
>    Got about 6 12"+ smallmouth  and a 23" Northern Pike! beginners
>    luck!!
    
    Sounds like he taught you good!
    
    

    
    Call the TEXICAN dtn 296-4196.  He be the Catfishin king.
    

    IVORY SOAP?????
    Not to sound stupid but what do you do with the Ivory soap?? Do
    you use pieces of it rub it on your bait or what? I am having catfish
    for supper to night and dumb ole me just caught it on a nightcrawler!!!
    
    Jan
    

YO,
      Try Lil' Stinker catfish bait. I like the "original" but a cheese
    and a blood bait are also available. Works for me... smells beauty
    too!
                   NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~~
    

    
    	I agree with .2, the killer cat bait is chicken livers.  I cought
    close to a 10 lb in the Delaware River a couple of years back. 
    It's garunteed.  
    
    						The Shark

     Another DITTO on the Chicken Livers, best Catfish bait I have used.
    
     Used to use it down South all the time for catfishin... worked
    great!  Use it 'up here' now as well... still works like a charm.
    
     Its inexpensive and gives you that "warm fuzzy" feelin' when you
    bait your hook with it (-;
                                                                 
     It can cast a mile.
    
     One tip that I have (works for me anyways)... DO NOT COOK IT for
    fishin' anyways, ha ha.
    
     Also, I use a really good size hook with either a steel leader
    or a heavy nylon type of leader, sure makes it easier to get that
    hook out when you land 'em.. better than cutting the hooks all the
    time.
    
                                                          Perry F.
                                                         ----------
     

    Beware!!!!  In the August issue of Outdoor Life there is a warning
    on Catfish in the Conn. river in Massachusetts.  It states that
    the Mass. DEQE has issued a warning on Catfish in the Conn. river
    for Massachusetts.  Due to high levels of PCB's they say not to
    eat more than two catfish meals a month and that children and pregnant
    women should not eat any at all.   
    
    
    Looks like another by-product of the industrial revolution!
    
    
    
    JPL
    
    
    

    re: .9
    There was an article in The Fisherman that listed the finding of
    a study by the DEP on catfish in the CT river just south of Hartford.
    All but one of the catfish that were tested were well below the
    max limit for pcb's. I think the limit was 2 ppm and these cats
    had 0 It's nice to know that things are starting to pick up again.
    
    Rick

    Ja cut it op in little pieces an put dem on de trot line hook. Den
    chew run de trot line ebery hour between drinkin beer an eatin
    boudin...
    
    Bon Chance....
    
    Coonass

    Coonass-
    
     Qu'est-ce que c'est boudin? Sounds lak one ob dem Cajun speshulties.
    Don't know about de boudin part, but de beer part sounds good to
    me. 
    
    Le Docteur
    
    PS- Where does "Coonass" come from?

    Yea doctah!! Boudin are a blood-rice sausage made by mos any cajun.
    De seasonins varies dependin on de time, weather, or de feelins
    ob de cajun makin it. Chew kin put it in de gumbo or cook it on
    de grill. Wen chew want to drink beer wit it(an who don't) chew
    put sum cayenne in it.
    
    Coonass are a pet name between cajuns(dere are many!!). It com from
    de French word for a part of de female anamoly!! Me, I'm not gonna
    say what part....but onless chew are a cajun chew don call a cajun
    a coonass!! I tink mebbe it started round Lafayette, but now chew
    hear it eberywhere. In Baton Rouge dey opened op one ob dem new
    intrastates around de city an dey named it de Acadian Expressway,
    but eberybody call it de Coonass Bypass!!
    
    Coonass

    
    Coonass -
	You ought to be able to get the best catfish bait in the world down
there where you are.  It's called "Quanah Stink Bait."  It's made down in 
Quanah, Texas, and it shor do STINK!!  But it will "garontee" catfish every
time you run the trot line.  One little problem here in the great Common-
wealth is that trot lines are just a little bit outside the fishing rules.
You can only have one hand line with no more than two hooks on it.  Oh well,
that just means that you can just put that little bell on the end of the 
rod and drink beer 'til the bell tinkles (or you do.)  
	By the way, is that Coonass Bypass a gentle suggestion for Cajuns
to keep right on goin' when dey gets to Batone Rooge?

the Texican
(transplanted to Taxachusetts but lovin' it)

    Where chew gets too many peeples, chew gets too many rools!!
    
    You're probably rite bout dem cajuns...gibin a Coonass a car is
    lak givin a crazy mon a pistol!!!
    
    Yea, me, I know bout dat Tejas stuff... but blood bait is cheeper,
    an jes as good.
    
    Kin chew hab yoyos op dere instead ob trot lines??
    
    Coonass

    Hey Coonass,
    
    Since trot lines are illegal here, I have no idea what they are
    but was always curious as the rules that come with the fishing line
    say "no trot or toggle line fishing"  BTW, what's a toggle line
    also?
    
    Tim
    

    Tim,
    
    Trot lines are one ob dem long nilon lines wit short lines hangin
    down wit hooks. Chew tie de long line between two cypress trees
    an bait de drop lines an run it ebery hour all nite long. In Tejas
    were dey don hab no trees, dey use jugs to hold de ends.

    I guess whot we call yoyos is whot chew call toggle line. Yoyos
    are spring loaded lines dat chew tie on a tree limb ober de water
    an wen a fish pull on it de spring pull him op to de top ob de water.
    Chew gotta run dem ebery hour as well. Wen ole Joe come to see me
    I gave him one ob dem to use op dere. If chew don run de yoyos an
    trot lines ebery hour de turtles and gars will eat chore fish. Bout
    de only ting chew catch on dem are catfish, but chew kin sometimes
    catch 20-30 pounders dat way.
    
    Coonass

    
    re. TROTLINES:
    
   .  Last night on "FISHIN TEXAS" (on the TEMPO channel) they showed
      apicture of a woman with a 65 pound yellow catfish that she caught
      on a trot line.

   .  During our last trip to texas (RR, The TEXICAN and I) I got hung
      up casting for SAND BASS (AKA White BASS). Heavy line with a "Little
      George.  I tugged and tuged to discover that I was hooked on a
      TROT LINE.  To release my lure, I pulled up the trotline to find
      several fish in various stages of being eaten by: turtles or whatever.
      It appeared that this line had not been attended to in some time.
      ( G R O S S ).  There was on CATFISH hooked up that wa still kicken.
      Yep you guessed right! I rescued the cat right to the live well.
    
      TBDW (not_5,_SEVEN_of_those_Crawfish)

    

	I'll have to verify in the rules (and you're dead right; rules, rules,
rules; everywhere; and about everything.) But, I think that you are limited to 
two lines of any type (with two separate hooks each) per person.  That sure
tilts the scale in favor of more drinking and less fishing when your fishing
for meat.  
	I forgot where it was discussed, but what's a good receipe for blood
bait?  I may try the Conn. River sometime soon after I clear up the conflicting
reports on the edibility of the catfish there.

Texican

    Who remembers the note concerning the Mass white catfish record
    that was tied last year. I'm pretty sure that a woman who reads
    this file caught the fish. The reason I ask is because I went to
    Pete's Gun and Tackle yesterday. Pete told me about a friend of
    his that had caught a white belly catfish that had beaten the record,
    but they didn't want to give him the record because the species
    he caught had 24 spines on the lower fin whereas the official species
    has 23. Supposedly the fish caught last year also had 24. I'm just
    trying to get to the bottom of this.
    
    The Doctah

    
    
                 /
    		/		
               /  With Jan, She is the CATFISH QUEEN of the Conference
           \  /
            \/
              

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    She did not catch it on a orange and purple earing
    
    
    
    TBDW (Who_has_almost_made_peece_with_Jan)
    

    re.19
          So you are the low life who robbed my trotline. 
                                                           NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~

    Out here in Colorado, I've been using some catfish bait called Magic
    Bait, it comes in shad, cheese, beef and chicken blood flavors.
    Also some bait, BEE-JAYS, I got back in Missouri.  All of these
    have been working super for me on my trotlines.  Have got close
    to 70 pounds of cats this summer on the stuff.  They have been from
    3 to 7 pounds each.  Time before last when I went out, some jerk
    cut the jugs off the end of my weights.  Was really PO'ed, but just
    put on a snagging hook and found the line.  Had 5 cats on it, that
    made me feel better.  The seven pounder was also on that line. 
    My friend that was along made the mistake of putting his thumb in
    its mouth to pick it up.  Fish clamped on his thumb, he hollered
    and pulled the fish off with a lot of thumb skin.  His line didn't
    produce as well so I let him have the big one.  He said he had a
    lot of pleasure eating that one.
    
    Gordon  who_likes_them_cats

    
      Can anyone direct me to a lake in the Leominster/Fitchburg Mass area
     where Catfish/Hornpout can be found (that taste good). Also, any
     idea's on when they stop biting? I heard they quit when the
     temperature drops (like about now).Any truth to this?
                                                           Robin

    
    	I am interested in info on catfish fishin' in Texas.  Anyone
    know any specific locations, best seasons, etc.
    
    thanx,
    
    Keith