We have all heard of crazy catfish baits. Think of something and someone, somewhere, has probably tried it. I have heard bubble gum, cow’s blood, Jello-soaked chicken, and even cigarette butts! Put a fisherman on a bank with no bait and he will find bait.
A couple of the weirdest baits I have personally tried are fast-food chicken nuggets (Burger King seems to be the favorite), kielbasa, and (my personal favorite) strawberry PopTart! That is a story for another day though. Today I want to tell you about the first time I used chicken legs for bait.
Chicken is a commonly used bait for catfish. Most people use chicken breast soaked in strawberry Jello (seriously, what is it with catfish and strawberry flavoring?) or chicken livers. Chicken livers are way too hard to keep on the hook, in my experience, and chicken breast can be difficult as well, so I rarely use chicken. However, I needed some bait one day and I found myself in the poultry section at the local store. The cheapest chicken I could find was some legs and wings.
Legs and wings, with the ligaments and the skin, stay on the hook MUCH better! I have caught some catfish on them for sure. But one of the first times I tried it was mid to late summer a of couple years ago. I was swinging for the fences, and I hooked on an entire chicken leg. A nice sized one too. I hunked it out to a spot I knew I had caught some nice blues from before and let it set.
Before too long, the reel started clicking. The drag was relinquishing line to the water slowly but surely. This was an odd take. Where blues normally grab a bait and run like the devil is chasing them, this just slowly but surely pulled line off the reel and into the water. I picked up the rod and tightened down the drag. The line was still pulling out and as the reel grabbed the line the rod started to bend toward the water. Once I had the drag tight, I quickly reeled down on the fish and the fight was on!
Much like the initial bite, this fight was weird. Unlike a blue, that shakes its head as it runs and moves in the water, and unlike the fast, consistent power of a flathead, this felt like a truck was attached to the other end of the line. The raw power told me I was onto something big!
An odd thing happens sometimes when you fish. The rod and the line become an extension of you. You get an eerie feeling you can tell what is happening in the water based on the way the rod kicks and pulls and moves in your hand. The rod speaks to you the fisherman. In this case, the rod was telling me I wasn’t fighting against fins. Whatever I was fighting felt like it was crawling, right through the muddy, mucky lake bottom. It was like I could feel the legs digging deep into the mud and pulling me like a sled dog pulls a sleigh.
It took a few minutes, but I finally wrestled the beast close enough to get a look. It was a giant turtle. A giant, spiny softshell turtle. This was early in my pier fishing days, so I didn’t have a net (later learned the hard way not to net a softshell anyway) so I had to walk her to the bank. That turtle fought for every inch, but I was finally able to land him! I got the circle hook out of the corner of her mouth and released her after a couple of pictures.
One of my favorite parts of fishing is the surprise of it. Granted, you get more of a surprise in saltwater, but freshwater holds its surprises too. Whether it’s a turtle biting a catfish bait, a catfish biting a bass lure, or something completely off the wall like a carp or buffalo, fishing holds surprises that can leave you awestruck! Many people would see a softshell turtle and think about what a pain it would be or how ugly they are. But if you really take a step back, you realize that it was a memory and an adventure. And if you really pay attention, you will see just how unique and beautiful an animal like that truly is! I count myself blessed to be able to have experiences like this. Experiences that put me right up and personal with animals most people are lucky if they get to see, let alone touch!
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