Catfishing at Lake Murray

This past weekend we took our annual pilgrimage to Lake Murray in central South Carolina. My father-in-law owns a small house there and when we have the opportunity we go. While there I always spend the evenings and nights fishing from his dock for catfish. While Lake Murray is not known for its catfish, I have always had pretty good luck fishing for them. On several occasions I have landed fish over 10 lbs. This past weekend was the exception. While we did catch some fish, we lost quite a few big fish.

On the first night, using dead blue back herrings for bait, the ambassador 5500 started singing, it was not the tell tell nibbling typically know for catfish, no, this was different. The rod went from being limp to bent double with the drag singing. As I grabbed the rod to set the hook, I felt a big fish for all of two seconds before the 25lb leader broke.

Two nights later, my oldest son using his Zebco 33 was fishing in a similar spot from the dock and we heard the drag ripping from his rod, he set the hook and the fight was on. This rod only had 8lb test on it, but it did have the 25lb leader. He made a valiant fight, but after over 4 minutes of fighting the hook pulled and it too got away. Not fifteen minutes later, his zebco again screamed, this time when he grabbed the rod to set the hook, he also grabbed the line and it shattered the line, popping like a small .22 rimfire when the line broke.

We know there are really big fish in this cove, and while we were unable to land them, it kept the excitement alive. We were able to land 5 cats, with the smallest being about 1.5 pounds and several in the 3-4 lb range.

Mostly though it was a great time, sitting with my boys on the dock, watching them and talking with them about fishing, stars, making faces out of the clouds, and admiring the sunsets.

This is what fishing is all about, spending the time with your kids, or friends, and knowing that it is times like this that memories are made, it is moments like this they will remember when I am gone. It is creating stories for their files they will tell their kids. Times of fishing with dad, of the big ones that got away, and of their times well spent.

Practing

The other day, I drug out my longbow for some practice, after allowing several days for the glue to dry on the new snake skin backing. After I brought it out and started to shoot, my youngest son, who is 7 came and asked if he could join me. Feeling somewhat frustrated because I wanted to do some serious practice, I relented and he went and got his bow, a "L'il Banshee" and his 18" arrows and joined alongside.

I was not aware of how much he has grown in the past few months, the bow is still a little big for him, but he is doing better. At a distance of seven yards we set up and he started to shoot the 3-D deer target we have been using for the past few years. Time and again, he would draw back and shoot, hitting the deer in the vitals. Being a traditional shooter, I do not have sights on his bow, and he shoots with his fingers. It is my opinion that starting them in this manner is easier than beginning with sights and then taking them away later.

We stood out there for about an hour, he would shoot two arrows and I would shoot two arrows, scoring each shot. The time I spent practicing was not serious, but it was enjoyable, and it reminded me of the importance of spending this time with my son.

Was the practice session wasted? Certainly not, was it beneficial, sure it was, I would not have practiced the close in shots had he not been there, and I saw that I needed that close practice. But more importantly I was able to spend time with my son and have the opportunity to instill in him the love of archery I have. I hope these practice sessions will be something we can do for years to come as he grows and matures, that when I am an old man, he will have the patience to stand there with me, while I practice the close shots. Regardless of what happens, these moments are some of the best times.

SnakeSkin backing to Longbow

In my earlier post I shared the Timber Rattler I got while doing some scouting. I took this snake home, skinned it, dried the skin and attacked it to my longbow. Here are some Pictures and how I did it. It make a great addition to your traditional archery gear.

The easiest way to skin a snake is to take some sharp scissors and cut along their belly line the length of the snake. This helps to keep a straight line. Once the cut is made, simply peel the skin off of the meat. At the anal opening, it does get tricky, so you may have to use a razor blade to trim the area.

Once the skin is off. You can either use cardboard, or as I did small brad nails and stretch the skin width ways using the nails to keep the skin as wide as possible. Alternate the nails from side to side. It is best to keep them directly across one another. Keep the nails only a couple of inches apart and tack both sides the length of the skin.

Once stretched, use borax (20 Mule team) and liberally coat the skin making sure to cover it completely. The borax will absorb all moisture and completely dry the skin. I left mine stretched for one week. Checking it every other day or so and added borax where needed.

Once it is dry, i used a shop vacuum to remove the borax, this helps to get it all off of the skin. Then remove the tacks and you are done with drying.

To attach it to your bow; First you must clean your bow. Using either mineral spirits or rubbing alcohol, liberally apply and rub thoroughly. Allow it to evaporate completely before you begin. Using good contact cement such as Barge cement. Follow the directions. Lightly coat your bow with a layer of cement, and then coat the skin - making sure the pattern aligns how you like it. Allow the cement to dry for about five minutes, then while holding the skin in the air, place the skin next to the handle and press. It will stick immediately and does not allow for much adjusting, so make sure it is aligned properly. Gently press the skin along the length of the bow limb - again make sure you are aligned correctly. Pressing with your finger. Allow it to set for a few minutes. Then using a razor blade (I used an exacto) trim the excess skin from the bow. (be careful not to cut your bow). Repeat for the other limb. Allow to set at least 24 hours before use.

To remove the scales, the easiest way is with masking tape. Press the masking tape on the skin firmly and lift. Scales will come off with the tape, repeat this until all scales are removed.

I did the bow pictured with one snake skin. I was careful to align the pattern so I could use different portions of the skin for different limbs.

I love how it turned out. This is my first attempt at this, but it is not difficult. If you do not have a snake skin, you can purchase them from 3 rivers archery where I got my instructions on how to apply the skin. (http://www.3riversarchery.com/)