Of birds and bees and feisty cats

This time of year can lead to quite the adventures on the river bank. Nature is alive and doing well. The trees are green with leaves. The birds, ducks, geese and wildlife are nurturing young. The grass is growing faster than most of us like. Activity is everywhere. I finally took that trip down to the river I had been contemplating for some time. The last of the steelhead trout have moved out to the lake, and I was anxious to see how the river was faring. Making my way down the path from the parking area I couldn't help but stop from time to time and admire what was around me. I normally travel this path in darkness or very little light but during the afternoon, it's quite the different story. With all the trees covered with leaves and casting shadows down onto the floor of the woods, the temperature dropped from the mid-80s to a more comfortable upper 70s. Squirrels and chipmunks were scurrying across the ground, birds chirping in the trees and a deer bounded away as I walked too close. There was so much to see that my walk took twice as long it would in mid-winter. Once at the bank, there was even more signs of life. A family of geese was swimming in the river and against the far bank a turtle was dozing on a log, soaking up some sun. All of this activity almost overshadowed my the sole purpose of the excursion ... catching some catfish. I decided to use my float rod and reel with a simple setup of a float, some split-shot weights and a hook. It's similar to what steelhead fishermen use. The bait of the day was a bag of shrimp I'd picked up from the local grocery store. I was fishing the same deep pools that a few months earlier were filled with steel head. And I use the same method. Figuring out the depth of the water I set my float so that my shrimp was bouncing just off the bottom. Lucky for me it didn't take but a few moments when the float bounced then disappeared below the surface. I set the hook and felt a fish thrashing on the other end, not a big one by any any means. I released a nice 18-inch channel catfish to fight another day. Continuing to work my around the area, I caught and released a couple more fish before making my way down to another probable spot, hoping to find something bigger. I cast my shrimp into a hole and worked my way through it to the tailout right before the riffles start. The float suddenly disappeared below the surface. Another fish had chosen a shrimp dinner. This one felt heavy, pulling hard against my line and diving back to the bottom of the river. After a spirited battle, my big fish for the day cleared the bank. I admired the wide, fat fish of around 26 inches and (guessing) about 8 pounds before setting him free. Most of the fish caught this day were channel catfish with a couple creek chubs and one carp thrown into the mix. This was a very nice way to spend a few hours outdoors enjoying myself. Summertime doesn't mean there is a lack of exciting sport fishing in our area rivers. There are plenty of hard-fighting catfish and carp around. Bass are also a pleasant species to target.And, aside from the fishing, this is a nice time to grab an old pair of sneakers and just go explore.