Golden cats of spring

Okay, it doesn't look exactly spring-like and "golden" may be a bit of a stretch.

But, technically speaking, I caught the fish after the equinox. And, you must admit, the color is pretty good.

The well dressed catman

So what does a Man of Constant Leisure do on a winter morning when he's got a 10 a.m. funeral to attend? Well, he puts on his finest funeral duds, swills a pot of coffee, and, before attending to his grim obligation, sneaks down to the river for a little morning fishing.

On this morning, the well-dressed catman was rewarded with a sleek little channel cat.

So far this week, I have caught three cats. All hit on dead--almost jerky-like--fatheads. Meanwhile, the lively minnows I've tossed into the river have gone utterly ignored. This leads me to believe that the cats are in full scavenging mode.

Like Nixon in '68

I've returned from California, tanned, rested and ready. The main difference between me and the old Wax Banana : I'm not yet prepared to run for higher office, wage war, or subvert democracy.

No, my ambitions are more modest. I aim to harass the fish of my stretch of the Mississippi River, specifically Ictalurus punctatus, or the channel catfish.

The specimen posing with the handsome fellow to the left was caught on two very dead fathead minnows. It was the first fish of '08 for the Man of Constant Leisure and therefore, in spite of its puniness, worth celebrating.