Mattawoman Creek- Saturday

[ronaultmtd]

They were cooperative- cut bunker bait is the ticket- one additional plus- the carcasses from last night were dumped in the edge of the woods in the field next door- two Bald Eagles and a Golden Eagle (teenager of the Bald eagle) are eating the remains of the catfish- cool birds -

[chimo]

Nice fishing with everyone yesterday! Thanks for the bait and showing me around yesterday Ron, the bunker was definitely working on the cats

I started out fishing in the first couple holes right above the launch waiting for Ron to get set up. Marked lots of fish on the breaks into the holes but couldn't get anything to commit. Threw minnows and soft plastics, jigged a cicada and dropped a half ounce spoon with with a jig & minnow teaser without any luck. Just after Ron joined myself and Chexone on the water the spoon got thumped and I took a little ride thanks to a 30ish inch carp Couldn't quite get him on the yak for a pic.

From there we moved upstream and fished a couple of the holes higher up. Continued to mark fish but the marks were fewer the higher up I went. Continued to throw the same lures as above without any luck. I finally turned around and came back to where Chexone and Ron were set up and started soaking bunker after hearing they were having some success. Broke the 1st one off due to a bad leader but the second bite turned out to be my biggest cat yet and probably my biggest fish from the kayak Fished until 1730 or so and ended up with 3 cats and the carp. Could not catch any panfish to save my life although I continued throwing lures and minnows. A couple guys fishing from shore seemed to be picking up some white perch on worms but I couldn't replicate their results. Good fishin

Chimo

[ronaultmtd]

Just finished cooking up a mess of southern fried catfish- everyone is smacking their lips and saying yummmm...made some cole slaw and homemade potato salad- cut the filets in one inch strips four or five inches long. patted them dry with fresh paper towels and then liberally coated them with Tony Chachere cajun seasons, rolled filets in corn meal and dropped in my big outdoor cajun cooker at 375 degrees until they float... crispy on the outside flaky on the inside- delicious!

[new2yaks11]

Nice work guys. I haven't fished Matawoman for many years. Used to spend a couple days each week there in my boat fishing with my dad. We caught lots of very nice bass there. Never really targeted anything else. My dad did catch a few small stripers at mouth of creek during summer months.

I cannot wait to launch my yak on Mattawoman. I've never fished from my yak there and really want to catch some big cats and some snakeheads from the Potomac this year. Hope I can meet up with some guys next time you get out there. The Potomac is a great fishery.

[tufnik]

Dang, you make a mean catfish dinner, Ron.

[ronaultmtd]

Tuf-Some folks don't eat catfish out of our waters- they are afraid of the fish being bad for them to eat- I do- they are delicious, flaky- white, moist meat. I don't eat them very often, but when I am in the mood for a big platter of Southern fried fish- these are my fish of choice. My family loves the catfish, too- only fish they all will eat.

Mattawoman creek holds big populations of catfish- most are the perfect size for eating- 1 1/2 to 5 pounds...five cats this size gives you plenty of fish for the table. Mattawoman creek isn't nearly as polluted as the Anticostia River or the Potomac at Blue Plains- (even though they have done a pretty good job of cleaning up the rivers) so I don't think eating a mess of catfish out of the creek is harmful.

[Meadeo]

A Virginia Fishery biologist told me that you can eat catfish out of any body of water in both MD or VA safely if you follow the size/age guidelines.

For example for Blue cats it is:

don't eat any fish over 22 inches or 4 lbs as they are likely no older then 3-4 years. Bio accumulation is the issue as they are apex predator and much like tuna or rock fish the longer they live the more crap they build up. Blue catfish grow approximately 1 lb a year.

I eat lots of blue cat out of the Rappahannock it is also one of my favorite fish for the table.

Meadeo

[kevinfry]

I'll never turn down a smallish catfish caught in So. MD.

Like I said before...Ya wanna live forever?

[MetroMan]

Damn good job on the catfish fillets Ron!

My wife and I are a fan of the fare served with collard greens and potato salad.

[Shady]

I have not tried blue catfish yet, but a fresh 2-4 lb flathead catfish is my catfish of choice between that and a channel cat. Hopefully I get a chance to try blue cat this year.