[BorregoWrangler]

This is a report from September. Now that its cooling off, fishing will be slow out there.

I've been getting my gear together lately and been waiting for a chance to head out and try for some Flatheads around Imperial Valley. Well my chance came up so I packed up and headed out around noon. At first I didn't have any luck making bait around the Central Main Canal or All American Canal so I figured I'd head up to Calipatria to buy some goldfish but the store closes early on Saturdays. I ended up finding a nice little canal with some slackwater and managed to pull out four nice fat bluegill until an hour before sunset. Then it was time to find a spot on the Mo. Since it was my first trip and I didn't have too much time I settled for a well used spot right off the road. It was really disappointing seeing all the trash just strewn about such a nice place to fish. So after getting my bait hooked up and in the water, I cleaned up as much as I could.

Around 8pm I got a good run but he mush have spit the bait. At 9:30pm I got another and managed to bring in a 9# Flathead. That was it for the night. I fished until 1am and wanted to stay longer but knew that if I did, I would be too tired to drive home safely. There was a nice breeze and I had no problems with mosquitoes. I had a blast! Looking forward to my next trip.

Central Main Canal.


There's a catfish just chillin' in the shallows.


Finally get into some Bluegill.




My fishing spot.




Here fishy!




Now to deal with all the trash.


Before.


After.


My Trasharoo was full by the time I finished cleaning.


Success!


I was hoping to beat my personal best of 15 pounds, but I'll settle for this.




It was a nice night to be out. Looking forward to the next trip.

[Number7]

Nice catch, what is the best way to cook catfish so they taste good? I always grill fish; trout and salmon grill nicely but the catfish did not taste good on the grill. George

[minirails]

The only way I like it is, cubed 1 inch, soak 1hour in milk, coat with cajun shake-n-bake, drop into pan of hot oil, remove when they float back up, place on a paper towel and enjoy. sorry for the hi-jack

[Number7]

The only way I like it is, cubed 1 inch, soak 1hour in milk, coat with cajun shake-n-bake, drop into pan of hot oil, remove when they float back up, place on a paper towel and enjoy. sorry for the hi-jack

Yum! George

[Project510]

Soak in Milk is crucial! Kills that fishy taste!

Nice pics Borrego!

[BorregoWrangler]

Fresh fish should never taste too fishy. I never keep any channel catfish over 5 pounds. The smaller ones taste best. Let the big ones swim to fight again and pass their genes onto the next generation.

Flathead catfish, such as the one I caught here, seem to taste good no matter how big they get since they primarily feed on live prey. They are also considered the best eating catfish. I like to batter my fish with pancake mix, beer, and brown sugar then either pan or deep fry them. While out camping I'll also wrap the fillets in tin foil with butter, lemon juice, salt & pepper, and onions. Ten minutes in the campfire coals and you're good to go!