Saturday’s fishing trip was very much unsuccessful, but on Sunday evening, we hit the jackpot. We went to a private cat fishpond, located on the property of a man who raises sheep. I think I enjoyed watching the sheep almost as much as I enjoyed fishing.
Sadly, the sheep were afraid of people, so they only came within about 20 feet of us. Mr. Handsome was so engrossed in fishing that he hardly noticed the sheep (see picture below).
We ended up catching a dozen catfish, and we kept four of them. I asked the owner of the farm to pose for picture with me. π
Anonymous
Wow great job, that looks like quite a handful! Do you and Mr. Handsome clean and eat the fish? If so, how do you prepare it?
nashvillewife@gmail.com
He cleans the fish (although he taught me how a few years ago) and we either fry them or saute them in olive oil and garlic salt.
Ellie
Anonymous
Nice pictures. It's nice that you go fishing with Mr. Handsome. I went fishing with my husband a few times, that was a long time ago. Do you bait your own hook? My husband had to [put the nightcrawler on my fishhook. I hate nightcrawlers. They are ugly and scary. Keep sending us stories, I love to read them.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
I'm still not great at baiting my own hook, but I'm learning. I also think that nightcrawlers are absolutely disgusting, but I've forced myself not to think about it. LOL. But sometimes I still ask my husband to put them on for me.
I'm glad you're enjoying my stories!
Ellie
Anonymous
Does it bother you at all to fish? I don't think I could do that to an animal. It's bad enough for me to look at their parts in the meat case at the store. Am sure I couldn't kill a fish myself or watch it suffer and die. I'd go to the pond with fish food and feed them, instead of having them feed me.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
It used to bother me a bit, but we don't do it just for sport. My husband can tell if they have been injured by the hook, and if they have, we always keep them. And we always eat what we keep.
Ellie
Anonymous
If you want four why not stop at four and go for a nice walk? I feel sorry for those poor fish that had hooks in their mouths. Could a fish learn to avoid a hook? That would be the benefit to catching and releasing eight, teaching.
Anonymous
There's one camp of scientists who say that fish can't feel pain, and another camp that says yes, they do react to stress and discomfort. So the debate rages on. Personally, I couldn't put a hook through a fish's mouth for fun or for food. Maybe Mr. Handsome could put some Novocaine on that hook first?
nashvillewife@gmail.com
I think the Novocaine would wash off. LOL. I'm not sure if fish can learn to avoid hooks. My guess would be no, as they are not the smartest creatures out there.
We almost always keep what we catch, unless the fish is too small or "pregnant." And we eat what we keep. To us, fishing is no different than buying meat from the grocery store. π
Ellie
Anonymous
did you go at night? that's what it looks like in the picture. I know at night/ early morning they bite more because its cooler.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
It was dusk. π That's true that fishing is usually best at dawn and dusk.
Ellie
Anonymous
I know you wear skirts and dresses, but do you allow yourself to wear pants in situations like this? I know I can't imagine myself going fishing in a skirt with all the mud, the bugs, the big boots, etc… And I like to see how your husband love his hobbies. It's refreshing!
Anonymous
Ellie does wear jeans:) I know because I've seen pictures of her wearing them.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
I base my wardrobe off the situation. In my opinion, there are some situations, such as fishing in the mud, when pants are more appropriate, but everyone has their own ideas on that. π
Blessings,
Ellie
Anonymous
I agree that sometimes it's best to wear jeans or pants. In my opinion, God gave us common sense for a reason:)
Anonymous
How about a warning to your readers that they're about to encounter dead animal pictures? Or better yet, just post more sheep happily grazing.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Sorry about that. I'll warn you next time. π
Ellie
Anonymous
I dont mind her putting dead animals on here.
Some people can be so mean.
Anonymous
I don't think the person was intending to be mean. I think they were just simply asking a question and stating their preference.
Anonymous
I have no problem fishing . We normally just catch and then release right after we catch them. But if we kept them , my husband would know what to do with the fish as far as cleaning and cooking them.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Sounds like our hubbies would enjoy each other's company! π
Ellie
Betsy
That looks like a fun outing, Ellie! I bet you both had fun. I've never been a fisher; the most I've ever done was put worms on little kids' hooks for them. π Not much experience here!
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Baiting the hook can be the hardest part, so it sounds like you're well on your way to becoming an experienced fisher-woman. π
Ellie
Anonymous
Good job on catching so many! Thanks for sharing the story. I read the other posts and what they were saying is crazy. There is nothing wrong with catching and eating fish or any animal. One reason God put them here was for us to eat and Jesus himself cooked fish in the Bible. I really enjoy your blog!!! Good job on it! Please keep the stories coming!!!!
nashvillewife@gmail.com
I'm thrilled to hear that you're enjoying my blog! I'll keep the stories coming. π
Blessings,
Ellie
Anonymous
Kind of off topic, but how do you deal with being away from your mom? I live 7 hours from home, with my partner. He works, I just finished up school and am starting a job next week. I love living here, my friends, hobbies, home, and now job are here… I have been here since before I met my guy. But I miss hanging out with my mom! I see other women out with their mothers and I'm sad I don't get to do that more often. How do you and your mom keep in touch? Do you ever feel the same?
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Hi there,
I do miss my mom! She's about 9 hours away, but we still manage to see each other every few months, and we talk on the phone every couple days. How often are you able to see your mother?
Ellie
Anonymous
We are able to speak on the phone regularly, which is nice. We manage visits every few months or so, quite often more like 4 months or more! I miss impromptu shopping trips (we like thrifting, my guy does not!), and cooking get togethers. But we make the most of our visits :). I'm sure there will be more when my parents retire and I have kids!
nashvillewife@gmail.com
I'm so thankful for technology. Imagine living 50 or even 100 years ago. Communicating and keeping up with someone who lived far away would've been so much more difficult.
Ellie
Anonymous
The farm looks beautiful!
Don't know much about fishing but do know a little bit about sheep. π
Next time if you sit still for a little bit the sheep might come closer. They have peripheral vision that makes them see more on the side rather then in front of them. Sheep are very afraid and skittish animals. That's how we can be and that's why God refuses us as sheep since we can be very afraid and skittish. π
Smiles and Blessings,
Elizabeth
nashvillewife@gmail.com
That's really interesting, Elizabeth! I'll have to try that. Do you have sheep?
Ellie
Anonymous
I do not have sheep. My Mom is making a bible study on Psalm 23, so sheep are mentioned a LOT in this household! π
Smiles and Blessings,
Elizabeth
nashvillewife@gmail.com
How neat! That would be a fun chapter to do a Bible study on.
Ellie
Anonymous
I heard last year spring is the time to get catfish. There is a way to can catfish. This uses a pressure canner and someone to process them immediately after catching them, which takes time late into the night. The result is a canned fish that tastes something like salmon I heard. I saw the product but did not taste it.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
How interesting! I've never heard of that, but I suppose if you can do it with salmon there's no reason you can't do it with other types of fish.
Ellie
Anonymous
I have never been fishing. My parents were never in to fishing.