Back in the mid 80s when there was still a upper lake above the narrows at Elephant Butte, several pop-up campers, travel trailers and even a 5^th wheel or two could be found at a remote campsite “boon docking” on the west side of the narrows.  There were “out-house” style restrooms and a couple of make-shift launch ramps, but no water or electrical hook ups, so we always tried to take as much ice as we would need for the outing.

Four of us were camping in our Layton travel trailer that we bought from you guys at Rocky Mountain RV & Marine.  My husband Henry pulled the Layton travel trailer with our Dodge truck and our friend Bill and his wife Janet towed our Tracker Tahoe runabout boat to the lake with Bill’s truck.  

As it worked out, we didn’t take enough ice after all, so the boys – my husband Henry and his pal Bill – took off in our Tahoe and headed down to the marina at the other end of the lake to get more ice.  It would be at least a 1 hr. round trip, so I was left with Janet at the travel trailer and we were asked to watch the fishing poles that we had set up on the bank in hopes of catching some catfish. 

The bell on Henry’s rod began to tinkle - something was nibbling at the night crawler.  When the line began to move I picked up the rod and set the hook only to have the fish wrap me up in a treetop or rock and break off.  So I re-rigged the line with a purple hook that I used when I fished for bass with a purple plastic worm.  I threaded on a fresh crawler and recast to the same area as before.  Once again after a few minutes, the line started twitching and then began to move, so I picked up the rod and set the hook again, but the fish got off and stole the night crawler, but I still had the purple hook & sinker.  I put on another worm on my purple hook and cast out to the same area and sure enough – a couple of minutes later, more nibbling – line moving.  I set the hook and again the fish wrapped me up in the same damn treetop, so I had to break off the line. 

At this point I was convinced that it was probably a bluegill or small bass getting a very nice dinner but I still re-rigged with a regular hook and put another worm out in about the same spot. 

About that time the guys returned with the ice and we went to work filling up the coolers.  They had bought a few other goodies and I was putting them away in the galley when I heard Henry yell that he had a big fish on his rod!  We all went running down to the bank just as he was reeling in a big old catfish that must have weighed at least 15 pounds.  I said, “That’s my catfish!” and told him about what had been happening while he and Bill were gone, but he didn’t believe any of it!  “Sure” he said, this fish continued to bite after being hooked and broken off a couple of times, and I own a bridge in New York that is for sale. 

Henry with My Catfish!

After he landed it we saw that the catfish had swallowed the worm and hook he was caught on, so Henry went ahead and cleaned it to get the hook back.  When he gutted the catfish he opened up the stomach just to see what the big cat had been eating – and guess what?  There was my purple hook with about 3” of line still attached! Wish you could have seen Henry’s face when he saw it!  There was no denying at that point it was my catfish after all! 

So don’t believe someone if they tell you that a fish won’t bite again after it’s been hooked once or twice.  And if you know where I can get some more purple fish hooks, please let me know.

Judith Ehman
Belen, NM