WEBVTT - Ep. 203: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Net Fishing, Here We Go Again!

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to this country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves

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<v Speaker 1>from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living.

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to stay a while as I share

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<v Speaker 1>my stories and the country skills that will help you

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<v Speaker 1>beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as

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<v Speaker 1>part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best

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<v Speaker 1>outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends,

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<v Speaker 1>pull you up a chair or drop that tailgate. I

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<v Speaker 1>think I got a thing or two and teach you

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<v Speaker 1>net fishing. Here we go again. Just when you thought

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<v Speaker 1>it was safe enough to get back in the water,

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<v Speaker 1>here come the Reeves brothers with another round of net fishing.

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<v Speaker 1>This one isn't a sequel, how too. Episode This one

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<v Speaker 1>is going to be more of a wake up grandpa

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<v Speaker 1>and go get the neighbors because y'all ain't gonna believe

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<v Speaker 1>what we did episode. I promise you we were more

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<v Speaker 1>surprised than the fish we caught. I'm going to tell

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<v Speaker 1>you all about it, but first I'm going to tell

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<v Speaker 1>you a story. Like a lot of my stories, you're

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<v Speaker 1>not gonna be surprised that this one is about my

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<v Speaker 1>brother Tim and me. It's a short one, but relevant.

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<v Speaker 1>Just the same now. I've been kind of sitting on

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<v Speaker 1>it since the beginning of this country life podcast. It

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't really fit a narrative or go along with any

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<v Speaker 1>podcast subject matter other than maybe if I did an

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<v Speaker 1>episode dedicated completely to dumb things we have done. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>this happened over thirty years ago, and at the time

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<v Speaker 1>I lived a mile and a half from where my

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<v Speaker 1>brother still lives. We did everything together all the time.

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<v Speaker 1>He was either at my house or I was at

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<v Speaker 1>his house, or we were together at the country store

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<v Speaker 1>listening to the old folks talk, or down to Dad's

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<v Speaker 1>house or over at his in law's house, who looked

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<v Speaker 1>at me as if I was just an extra family member.

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<v Speaker 1>We were all close. None of that has anything to

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<v Speaker 1>do with this story other than me illustrating the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that we lived close together, and by lived close together,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean in totality. If we weren't physically together, we

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<v Speaker 1>passed each other's house, or we ran into each other

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<v Speaker 1>at the country store, or met each other on the road. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>meeting each other on the road one afternoon would most

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<v Speaker 1>times have us playing an impromptu game of chicken by

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<v Speaker 1>dodging at the other's vehicle like we were going to

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<v Speaker 1>run them off the road. I do not recommend this,

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<v Speaker 1>nor do either of us still participate in this tomfoolery. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>I know a lot of you right now are fast

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<v Speaker 1>forwarding to the punchline and thinking to yourself, those idiots

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<v Speaker 1>did that at the same time and wrecked their trucks. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>you'd be wrong. We did something dumb, not stupid, not really.

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<v Speaker 1>Well maybe, but it wasn't our finest hour, to be sure.

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<v Speaker 1>And this incident did involve both of our trucks, but

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<v Speaker 1>no damage to either vehicle was done, none whatsoever, and

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<v Speaker 1>we both maintained complete control of everything except our senses.

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<v Speaker 1>Late one afternoon, I pulled onto the highway from a

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<v Speaker 1>Gravel County road, headed east to the store. Tim is

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<v Speaker 1>three quarters of a mile further away, and he pulled

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<v Speaker 1>onto the highway from his in laws drive headed west.

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<v Speaker 1>It was like synchronized swimming. I felt quite sure that

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<v Speaker 1>he thought to himself as he saw me coming, something

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<v Speaker 1>similar to what I was thinking. Ah, there comes my brother.

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<v Speaker 1>We need to do something cool. Well. The evening sun

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<v Speaker 1>was lighting up the interior of his truck as we

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<v Speaker 1>got closer, and I saw him when he flipped down

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<v Speaker 1>the sun visor, so he could see me getting closer.

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<v Speaker 1>My sister in law barbagings like the jewel she is

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<v Speaker 1>sitting right beside him. She would play a supporting role

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<v Speaker 1>as the unwitting witness, while her husband and I starred

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<v Speaker 1>as the dim witted brothers. Tim's truck slowly crept toward

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<v Speaker 1>the center line. I did the same. My memory is

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<v Speaker 1>to who did it first. As a little foggy, but

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<v Speaker 1>almost simultaneously, we each stuck our hands out the window

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<v Speaker 1>to give the other the coolest high five in recorded history.

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<v Speaker 1>I looked at my speedometer. I was going thirty five

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<v Speaker 1>miles an hour. Tim appeared to be doing a similar rate.

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<v Speaker 1>Ever so slightly we inched closer to the center line.

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<v Speaker 1>I could see them both playing as day. Tim arms

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<v Speaker 1>stretched out as far as it would go, grinning like

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<v Speaker 1>a mute lead, and saw briars and barbacanes, smiling, face

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<v Speaker 1>fading quickly into an expression of I married an idiot

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<v Speaker 1>and I got his idiot brother too. Now this was

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<v Speaker 1>going to be epic in my mind. I quickly calculated

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<v Speaker 1>that neither of us could get our trucks any closer

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<v Speaker 1>to the center line without trading a little paint and

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<v Speaker 1>this would have to do. And in the time it

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<v Speaker 1>has taken me to tell this story, the actual incident

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<v Speaker 1>had already taken place. Had I had this much time

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<v Speaker 1>to really think about it, I felt quite sure that

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<v Speaker 1>we wouldn't have done it. At the time, it seemed

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<v Speaker 1>like such a good idea. Nothing short of divine interventions

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<v Speaker 1>saved both our arms that day. As we passed each

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<v Speaker 1>other at the combined speed of at least seventy miles

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<v Speaker 1>an hour, only the very tiniest bit of the tips

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<v Speaker 1>of our middle fingers on each of our left hands touched.

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<v Speaker 1>It wouldn't have been enough contact to light a kitchen

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<v Speaker 1>match had you used the same contact across sandpaper. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a good thing it wasn't any more than that, because

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<v Speaker 1>it felt like I had touched the surface of the

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<v Speaker 1>sun and been struck by lightning all at the same time.

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<v Speaker 1>I looked back in the side mirror as I shook

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<v Speaker 1>my hand trying to put the flames out that had

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<v Speaker 1>ignited upon contact, and Tim was doing the same. We

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<v Speaker 1>talked on the phone later that night about how thankful

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<v Speaker 1>we were for failing that stunt. We've talked about it

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<v Speaker 1>ever since, especially when we see something we judge as

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<v Speaker 1>being egregiously dumb, then we say, ah, yes, but as

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<v Speaker 1>that is done, it's attempting a high five at seventy

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<v Speaker 1>miles an hour him to find out a few things,

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<v Speaker 1>ever are. And that's just how that happened. Five episodes ago,

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<v Speaker 1>around podcast number one ninety three, I talked about fishing

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<v Speaker 1>with nets and how my brother Tim and I were

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<v Speaker 1>going to fish his wire ones in the Arkansas River.

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<v Speaker 1>Talked about my friend Jerry Bowser down in Louisiana that

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<v Speaker 1>told us how to fish the hoop nets that I have.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to give you an update on the hoop

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<v Speaker 1>nets in a minute, but right now I want to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about those wire nets some more. We'd fished them

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<v Speaker 1>for a few days last year on the same section

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<v Speaker 1>of the river. One of them we fished in the

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<v Speaker 1>same spot as last year. A year ago. We had

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a dozen fish total out of all three nets.

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<v Speaker 1>The river came on a big rise and we postponed

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<v Speaker 1>setting the nets. And this was before I had retired

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<v Speaker 1>from my regular job, and we wound up not going

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<v Speaker 1>back at all until a couple of weeks ago. Work

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<v Speaker 1>had gotten in the way again. Man I hated when

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<v Speaker 1>that happened. It's happened often in my life, and I'll

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<v Speaker 1>never be able to forgive work for how it has

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<v Speaker 1>treated me all these years. So I quit last October.

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<v Speaker 1>I retired and all my other pursuits, putting net fishing

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<v Speaker 1>on the back burner until recently. But we talked about

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<v Speaker 1>it all through the winter, me and Tim. I was

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<v Speaker 1>watching YouTube videos and sending them to him and he

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<v Speaker 1>was doing the same. The videos were filmed by another

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<v Speaker 1>fellow down in Louisiana. But this, when it turns out,

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<v Speaker 1>was a whole lot closer to Arkansas than my old pile.

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<v Speaker 1>Jerry Bradley Smith lives not far south of the Arkansas

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<v Speaker 1>Louisiana line and fishes a lot on the Washingtaw River. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>I used to be partners in the camp down there

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<v Speaker 1>on the Washtaw. It was located in Union County, in

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<v Speaker 1>the small community of Felsenthal. Now some of the some

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<v Speaker 1>of my coworkers at the Sheriff's office and I had

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<v Speaker 1>it and we had a lot of fun hunting fishing

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<v Speaker 1>down there. But Bradley Smith was the first I'd ever

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<v Speaker 1>seen fishing the wire nets. Their fiddler nets, named for

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<v Speaker 1>the smaller catfish that they target, and the only difference

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<v Speaker 1>between them and a hoop net is the net webbing

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<v Speaker 1>is held in place by a four foot section of

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<v Speaker 1>concrete reinforcement wire rolled in to a tube with a

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<v Speaker 1>diameter of eighteen inches and can literally be dropped in

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<v Speaker 1>the water and fish without any type of anchor having

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<v Speaker 1>to tie it off on the other end. Otherwise it

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<v Speaker 1>would be held open by four evenly spaced fiberglass hoops

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<v Speaker 1>with a tail rope and a head rope that would

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<v Speaker 1>each have to be weighted and stretched tight to keep

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<v Speaker 1>the hoops up right so the fish could swim inside. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>you wouldn't want to just drop a wire net over

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<v Speaker 1>the side of the boat without securing it to an

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<v Speaker 1>anchor or tying it off to something in current. There's

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<v Speaker 1>no tilling where would end up, but back in your

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<v Speaker 1>boat would probably be the last place. Bradley produces some

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<v Speaker 1>good YouTube content on his channel God's Country Hunting and Fishing.

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<v Speaker 1>He goes into a lot of detail on how he

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<v Speaker 1>catches fish, where he likes to set his nets, and

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<v Speaker 1>what type of nets he fishes, how to repair damage nets,

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<v Speaker 1>and the thing I like most is how to make

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<v Speaker 1>one from scratch. I find it so fascinating that you

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<v Speaker 1>can take a roll of twine, a net needle, and

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<v Speaker 1>what Bradley calls a netting board, which is a thin

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<v Speaker 1>piece of wood about the size of a plated card

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<v Speaker 1>that's used as a measuring guide for the spacing of

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<v Speaker 1>the knots in the mesh that form the net. Different

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<v Speaker 1>sized mesh is used for different sized fish. Now I

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<v Speaker 1>add a few hoops to the mix, some weights, rope,

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<v Speaker 1>or a roll of wire, and you got a fish

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<v Speaker 1>catching machine that runs twenty four to seven and can

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<v Speaker 1>catch more fish than you'll want to clean if you're

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<v Speaker 1>not careful. Now, making one like Bradley does from start

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<v Speaker 1>to finish is next on my net fishing to do list. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>that and actually putting the two hoop nets I have

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<v Speaker 1>now in the water. The only reason they're not soaking

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<v Speaker 1>in the tepid flow of the Arkansas River right now

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<v Speaker 1>is the upcoming Turkey season. It has me traveling in

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<v Speaker 1>and out of surrounding the nearby states for the next

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<v Speaker 1>few weeks. I know that's a good problem to have.

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<v Speaker 1>I ain't complaining, but I can't wait to get to

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<v Speaker 1>fishings because once Turkey season is done, I'm a commercial fisherman.

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<v Speaker 1>I bought my license this week and have the tags

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<v Speaker 1>for both of my hoop nets and some for the

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<v Speaker 1>three wire nets. I'm fixing the buy before anyone thinks

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<v Speaker 1>that I've done something illegal. That saw the videos of

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<v Speaker 1>me and my brother Tim fishing before I bought this license.

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<v Speaker 1>You need to understand how this works. You can purchase

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<v Speaker 1>a helper's license when you purchase your commercial fishing license,

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<v Speaker 1>and this allows any resident of Arkansas with a valid

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<v Speaker 1>fishing license to assist the commercial fishing license holder when

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<v Speaker 1>running the nets. That's what I and Tim were doing.

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<v Speaker 1>He has the commercial license and I was his helper.

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<v Speaker 1>As evidenced in the answer video. Someone commented that Brin

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<v Speaker 1>is pulling the nets and working while Tim sits comfortably

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<v Speaker 1>in the back of the boat. Well, I may be

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<v Speaker 1>an experience the Mississippi River Expedition boat captain and cub

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<v Speaker 1>pilot instructor, but I'm still the little brother. Where was

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<v Speaker 1>I going with this? Oh? Yeah, the wire nets Tim

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<v Speaker 1>and I set out on the day a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>weeks ago that we set them out. We had only

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<v Speaker 1>one spotted mine before we got to the river that day.

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<v Speaker 1>That was the place where we caught the most fish

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<v Speaker 1>last year, all nine of them. We had a total

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<v Speaker 1>of twelve to fifteen fish that day, counting a ten

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<v Speaker 1>pound grinnel we had in one of our nets. It's

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<v Speaker 1>also called a bowfend, and I read an article on

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<v Speaker 1>Arkansas Wild dot com that described it as, and I

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<v Speaker 1>quote the author, a prehistoric, bone headed, air breathing, ealy finned,

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<v Speaker 1>monster fanged fossil fish dating back to the Jurassic period

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<v Speaker 1>that fishermen loved to hate. That was eloquently put Mark Spitzer.

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<v Speaker 1>But water conditions were similar to last year, so we

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<v Speaker 1>were hoping to at least equal last year's catch of

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<v Speaker 1>a dozen plus fish after a week's soaking with the nuts.

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<v Speaker 1>All week, when Tim and I would talk on the phone,

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<v Speaker 1>the first question after Hello would be what are you doing?

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<v Speaker 1>The response from the other would be, I'm catching fish?

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<v Speaker 1>What are you doing? The response was always me too. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>little did we know that that's exactly what we were

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<v Speaker 1>doing on the day. We said, and we ran into

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<v Speaker 1>a friend of ours that is a real commercial fisherman. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>he fishes every day, and I don't mean five days

0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.600
<v Speaker 1>a week, every day, as in seven days a week.

0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:48.680
<v Speaker 1>When you're fishing to pay your light bill. The incentive

0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:52.320
<v Speaker 1>is real and far beyond the romanticism of scooping up

0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:54.199
<v Speaker 1>a mess of fish from the river to fill your

0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:58.240
<v Speaker 1>freezer and feed your friends and family. It gets to

0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:00.840
<v Speaker 1>be a whole lot of light work. Tim and I

0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:03.800
<v Speaker 1>had set one net when we ran into him. He

0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:06.520
<v Speaker 1>pulled up beside us, and we talked about the water

0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:09.760
<v Speaker 1>conditions and everything else. While our friend sat in his boat,

0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:12.680
<v Speaker 1>fish piled up around him like sand bags, and he

0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:16.280
<v Speaker 1>was in a fox hole on guard duty. He gave

0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:18.920
<v Speaker 1>me a buffalo fish before he left, like a casino

0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.720
<v Speaker 1>gambler flips a chip to the dealer at the blackjack table.

0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:24.760
<v Speaker 1>I thanked him, and I jokingly told him, since he'd

0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:27.880
<v Speaker 1>been so nice in giving me that fish, that any

0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:30.720
<v Speaker 1>time he wasn't around, I'd run his nets for him

0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:33.520
<v Speaker 1>and keep all the fish. He didn't think it was

0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:36.440
<v Speaker 1>nearly as funny as Tim did. Anyway, We went on

0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:39.360
<v Speaker 1>about our business and set the other two of Tim's nets.

0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:42.520
<v Speaker 1>We each picked out a spot, loaded him with bait,

0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:44.920
<v Speaker 1>secured him with a rope and a weight, and I

0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:49.640
<v Speaker 1>dropped him over the side. In nineteen eighty one, Tom

0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:52.840
<v Speaker 1>Petty released a song about net fishing on the Arkansas River.

0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:56.040
<v Speaker 1>Now few people know that when Tom and the Heartbreakers

0:14:56.040 --> 0:15:01.040
<v Speaker 1>weren't touring, that they were secretly commercial fishermen. How am

0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:03.000
<v Speaker 1>I the only one to know this? And why did

0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:05.360
<v Speaker 1>it take me forty three years to crack the case?

0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.520
<v Speaker 1>Because I started net fishing and I listened to the

0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:13.760
<v Speaker 1>words of songs. I get what they're really trying to say.

0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:16.080
<v Speaker 1>That song was playing on the radio the other day

0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:19.240
<v Speaker 1>coming back from the river. Just listen to his song,

0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:22.960
<v Speaker 1>the Waiting. If that ain't a song about fishing nets,

0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:26.800
<v Speaker 1>I don't know what is. Anyway. Me and Tim set

0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:29.920
<v Speaker 1>our nets and waited. See see what I'm talking about?

0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:33.080
<v Speaker 1>The days drug by, And it's a good thing we

0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:35.440
<v Speaker 1>each live an hour away from the boat ramp. Or

0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:38.200
<v Speaker 1>the temptation to check them early may have been too

0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:41.160
<v Speaker 1>much to handle. Jerry said, y'all got to let them

0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.160
<v Speaker 1>soak and have time to catch. Tim and I vowed

0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:47.200
<v Speaker 1>not to check them for seven days. We put them

0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:49.840
<v Speaker 1>out on a Thursday and we would check them the

0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:53.720
<v Speaker 1>Thursday of the following week. On the next Tuesday, we

0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:55.880
<v Speaker 1>were back in the boat down the ramp to check them.

0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:59.360
<v Speaker 1>We were two days earlier than we'd planned. Even though

0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.240
<v Speaker 1>it was a struggle. I was down for holding out

0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:04.480
<v Speaker 1>the last two days. But Tim talked to Jerry the

0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:07.640
<v Speaker 1>night before and he said, man, if y'all are catching fish,

0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:10.920
<v Speaker 1>you might need to check them tomorrow. You might be

0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:14.480
<v Speaker 1>catching more than you want to skin. Now, going by

0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:16.840
<v Speaker 1>last year's catch, I didn't have a lot of hope,

0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:21.160
<v Speaker 1>but my faith was strong. Also. I didn't think there

0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:23.080
<v Speaker 1>was such a thing as catching more fish than you

0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:26.280
<v Speaker 1>want to skin. That's like bawling more crawfish than you

0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:28.280
<v Speaker 1>want to eat, or tree or more coons than you

0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:32.560
<v Speaker 1>want to look at. That's pure silliness. But we rolled

0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:37.280
<v Speaker 1>into spot number one hopeful but not over confident. Tim

0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:39.360
<v Speaker 1>had his hand on the tiller as we coasted up

0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:41.480
<v Speaker 1>to the place where we'd caught the most fish last

0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:44.880
<v Speaker 1>year and predicted out loud, fifteen fish to God and

0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:48.400
<v Speaker 1>everybody within earshot to be the count. In the first net.

0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:52.920
<v Speaker 1>It was a second or third pull with the net drag.

0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:54.480
<v Speaker 1>When I hung the net and pulled it up to

0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:57.640
<v Speaker 1>the boat, it didn't feel heavy, it didn't feel like anything.

0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:00.000
<v Speaker 1>Then as I pulled the end of the net first,

0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:03.360
<v Speaker 1>they're out above the surface the water began to swirl,

0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:06.840
<v Speaker 1>and I knew we had at least one No sooner

0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:09.840
<v Speaker 1>had I come to that conclusion. Then I realized we

0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:18.760
<v Speaker 1>had more way more than one thirty plus fish in

0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:23.080
<v Speaker 1>the first net. Tim and I were floored. We had

0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:26.720
<v Speaker 1>more than doubled all of last year's catching. The first net,

0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:28.960
<v Speaker 1>it was the net that we had the most confidence

0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:31.080
<v Speaker 1>in until I pulled it up and saw how loaded

0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:34.880
<v Speaker 1>it was. I immediately thought about the one we placed near

0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:38.560
<v Speaker 1>the main river channel and a big eddy. I thought

0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:41.160
<v Speaker 1>that one had a lot of promise, just going by

0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:43.360
<v Speaker 1>what Jerry had told us and what I'd learned from

0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:47.840
<v Speaker 1>watching Brady's videos on YouTube. Two mile ride to the

0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:50.879
<v Speaker 1>next net took forever, but we passed the time seeing

0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:53.400
<v Speaker 1>who could smile the biggest as we hooped and hollered

0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:55.480
<v Speaker 1>all the way down the river to where it's sent.

0:17:56.760 --> 0:17:59.400
<v Speaker 1>This took several drags until I finally hooked the line

0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:01.960
<v Speaker 1>and started put the net, and I didn't get it

0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:04.680
<v Speaker 1>to the surface before I started feeling a net shake

0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:07.919
<v Speaker 1>with fish. This catch was bigger than the first, and

0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:10.160
<v Speaker 1>it took me several tries to get it in the boat.

0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:13.520
<v Speaker 1>The third net may have been the biggest catch of

0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:17.280
<v Speaker 1>all that day. It was all I could do to

0:18:17.320 --> 0:18:19.800
<v Speaker 1>get it loaded and dumped in the floor of our vessel.

0:18:20.359 --> 0:18:24.280
<v Speaker 1>Almost one hundred and twenty five fish we reset each net.

0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:28.520
<v Speaker 1>Now to think that I'd laughed the night before talking

0:18:28.520 --> 0:18:31.040
<v Speaker 1>to Tim on the phone when he told me Jerry said,

0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:32.960
<v Speaker 1>we may catch more fish than we want to skin.

0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:36.080
<v Speaker 1>Now that wasn't the case. But for the next two

0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:38.879
<v Speaker 1>hours we stood at the end gate of TAM's truck

0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:42.800
<v Speaker 1>and filaied fish until we'd put almost sixty pounds of

0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:47.159
<v Speaker 1>catfish filets on ice to take home. We looked at

0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:49.760
<v Speaker 1>what we'd done and bashed in the glory of the

0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.240
<v Speaker 1>big pile of fish that we caught and cleaned, and

0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:54.680
<v Speaker 1>I looked at him, I said, buddy, that's a lot

0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:57.639
<v Speaker 1>of fish. He kept staring at the fruit of our

0:18:57.720 --> 0:19:00.440
<v Speaker 1>labor and said, some folks may be getting and fish

0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:03.359
<v Speaker 1>for Christmas this year, or they very well might be.

0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:07.359
<v Speaker 1>I've given some away to my neighbors on both sides

0:19:07.359 --> 0:19:09.000
<v Speaker 1>of them, and I plan on sharing some with the

0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:11.560
<v Speaker 1>others too. And if you want to see a smile

0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.080
<v Speaker 1>on someone's face, just surprising them with a mess of

0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:17.879
<v Speaker 1>freshly cleaned fish. If you want to see me and

0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:21.240
<v Speaker 1>Tim smiling, go over to my Instagram and watch the

0:19:21.320 --> 0:19:23.879
<v Speaker 1>reel I've put together. Tim and I run the nets

0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:27.160
<v Speaker 1>that day. We baited them and reset them like I said,

0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:29.280
<v Speaker 1>And three days later we had to go back and

0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:32.680
<v Speaker 1>check them, not because we couldn't wait, but because I'm

0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:34.920
<v Speaker 1>having to leave to go Turkey ount with some friends

0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:38.880
<v Speaker 1>down in Mississippi. This time I brought a bigger ice chest,

0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:42.399
<v Speaker 1>more ice, and Tim had gotten a customed skinning board

0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:45.879
<v Speaker 1>made that would allow us both space to filey and

0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:50.439
<v Speaker 1>hook fish to be skinned. Whole long story short, the

0:19:50.520 --> 0:19:52.879
<v Speaker 1>river came up four feet during those three days, and

0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:55.880
<v Speaker 1>when that happens, the fish fall the rise and they

0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:59.520
<v Speaker 1>move onto the newly flooded ground where the fresh food

0:19:59.560 --> 0:20:03.359
<v Speaker 1>is unco The prediction had been a rise of less

0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:06.120
<v Speaker 1>than half a foot, which could have been equally as

0:20:06.160 --> 0:20:08.600
<v Speaker 1>bad for where we'd sit the nets as well, but

0:20:09.119 --> 0:20:12.000
<v Speaker 1>not as likely. But four feet, man, that's a fish

0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:14.800
<v Speaker 1>and killer on the net. Out of the three nets,

0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:17.760
<v Speaker 1>we call one fish, and we turned him loose after

0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:20.080
<v Speaker 1>we made him promise not to tell his butdi is

0:20:20.119 --> 0:20:23.200
<v Speaker 1>what we were doing. Time will tell if a catfish

0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:27.000
<v Speaker 1>can be trusted to keep his mouth shut. By the

0:20:27.040 --> 0:20:29.280
<v Speaker 1>time this episode is aired, I hope to have had

0:20:29.359 --> 0:20:32.639
<v Speaker 1>my foot on the neck of a flopping Mississippi longbeard.

0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:40.840
<v Speaker 1>Time will tell on that met Either Auction House Oddities

0:20:40.960 --> 0:20:43.960
<v Speaker 1>is up until April the ninth, so you still got

0:20:44.000 --> 0:20:46.600
<v Speaker 1>a few days to check that out. Lots of cool

0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:50.520
<v Speaker 1>it of including an all inclusive coon hunt for two

0:20:50.560 --> 0:20:54.680
<v Speaker 1>with me Old Whaling and my pals down here in Arkansas.

0:20:55.000 --> 0:20:59.320
<v Speaker 1>That's right, two people. The folks and Bozeman were pretty

0:20:59.320 --> 0:21:02.240
<v Speaker 1>stoked to hear, so you never know if somebody else

0:21:02.600 --> 0:21:05.119
<v Speaker 1>in the meat of the crew may be crashing the party.

0:21:05.840 --> 0:21:08.480
<v Speaker 1>And we're not through with the net fishing series just yet.

0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:11.160
<v Speaker 1>I still got to get my hoop nets prepped in

0:21:11.160 --> 0:21:15.400
<v Speaker 1>into the water. I love the turkey hunt, but that gum.

0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:19.720
<v Speaker 1>This net fishing is fun, but the waiting that's the

0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:26.600
<v Speaker 1>hardest part. Check out the Meat Either live events and

0:21:26.640 --> 0:21:30.160
<v Speaker 1>get your tickets before they sellout. My river boat pilot

0:21:30.200 --> 0:21:33.439
<v Speaker 1>trainee Clayton Nukelem, along with the usual suspects, will be

0:21:33.480 --> 0:21:36.920
<v Speaker 1>at every show. I thank you for listening, and until

0:21:37.000 --> 0:21:40.800
<v Speaker 1>next week, this is brit Reeves. Sign it off. Y'all

0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:41.320
<v Speaker 1>be careful