Fun Memories of catching our first Catfish in Baton Rouge ... and the fun way we used to transport it ....
Pic: Public Domains - Andrew With Bass at Kenny Kleinpeter's Pond, Imagined Wagon with a Catfish and H20 & Andrew with a Catfish . KOA Lillian AL!
“I think we caught a 'Cat,' Dad” - said Andrew, our oldest son as a 4+ year old in 1993 as we were having fun on a Sunday afternoon in Southeast Baton Rouge fishing at a pond near the then Health South Rehab – now Baton Rouge Rehab, which was located at the current United Plaza Blvd.
We had just moved from New Orleans onto a neat little street off Essen and I-10, N. Essen Heights Ct., so it was fun taking walks sometimes, especially on weekends, with the kids to feed the ducks in that nearby area.
Did I have a fishing license back then?
Heck no, as this was assumed by me then to be one of those inalienable rights in the Constitution or Bill of Rights! … fortunately, no LA Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Wardens caught me.
Recently, as I'm over 60 years of age, it was so fun to see how many perks I got when I renewed my LA Fishing License for next to nothing at Academy!
I had not been a big fisherman in New Orleans, but I have ever cherished my first fish caught, a perch, with my Dad helping me at one of those ponds at Audubon Park with one of those ole fashioned bamboo fishing pole.
My late uncles, Arthur and Junior Kleinpeter, were avid fisherman whom used their love of that sport in providing a wide assortment of fish for the Kleinpeter Grocery, which was located in New Orleans cater-corner to then Mercy Hospital at the intersection of Jefferson Davis and Bienville Streets.
Uncle Arthur's hand had gotten stuck once by a catfish spine, as I never will forget the scar he had shown me.
So I was very cautious, as I went to take Andrew's catfish off of the hook and clumsily tried to follow my uncle's advice to put my hand directly behind the pectoral and dorsal spines with the area between your thumb and forefinger resting behind the dorsal spine; after a few close mishaps, I finally was able to get the cat off.
And I never had taken the time to learn how to fillet a fish back then, as I usually just did the old “catch and release” of fish caught.
So back to this fun time when Andrew and I had taken a fishing walk to the pond by the Rehab Center.
I just then remembered that our cool, outgoing neighbor, the late Don Marrero, on N. Essen Heights Ct., had once told me about his fishing skills, including filleting fish, so I thought of a unique way to bring the Cat to Don, in case I decided to bring it back to the pond – to catch at a later date!
So guess what? Andrew helped me, with a cup we had, to put some pond water into the Red Wagon with the Cat. So there we were, strolling down the sidewalk of United Plaza Blvd, back home as water would swish back and forth with the fish swimming in the wagon.
Well, suffice it to say, that Don fried up some a very tasty catfish fillet for us that night which got shared by our family … and I, with a fondness for tartar sauce, certainly made a great topping for my bites!
Keith John Paul Horcasitas, 1133 Knollhaven Drive, BRLA 70810, khorcasitas.yahoo.com, March 8, 2021.
Even though my introduction to fishing was in the far north, Wisconsin, there is much similarity to yours. My first fish were shiners and chubs from a Creek that ran through my uncle 's farm. But shortly after that, in farm ponds and our rivers, bullheads were usually caught by putting an earthworm on the bottom. Perch, bluegills and sunfish occupied the shallows. We called them pan fish, but I disliked bullheads. But remember that my grandfather loved catfish and preferred fishing for them.
I was a fishing fool and introduced any number of kids to fishing and handling bait.
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
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Pic: Public Domains - Andrew With Bass at Kenny Kleinpeter's Pond, Imagined Wagon with a Catfish and H20 & Andrew with a Catfish . KOA Lillian AL!
