The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1894-12-06
spEAs.aa Tlss sHoyzL CAT.
Is
4 ID ,sso,,r Ian reiis Fishing Experience Of

siiS sssstStiuv's.
81, euceecy fish swis1s. exclaimed
Ga. tall siissourii;s;i who WIS ;.ilsitlg'
6sh ;:....airss. In t.ls ps-sae ,,i one u
the. d6wn-.oxn hoe tic otscf cen
inn. and no iish that viii Civ, I: more
furiou., f.sn for an honr or so taar ostr
homely old shovel eat Of the west !,
4 number Of well known anglers had '1
rathcrct in ~ cosy corner and were
listening 10 TIE bic III stores, toia
bctweer, vi.:orous paffs of his cor:i-coo
pipe. "a,
sIn ali the crcc'ts AM! branches trio.
u1;try TO thu Mis- ss;ppi and Missouri
one may catch this awkward heavy
fish, and if one BIZ only out Tor
cats alone. lie w.li g;vc. rare sport. But
10 the Graphic As',ey.:an h IS a great:
mis- lncs. s.ealin tae beit as fast as II
cun be put OF tbs loo;s. AMI seldom
a,low.at him ,e,f to be l,oo,Se /. De-
spite hi, clu nsy ,haoe Ee i arha 10 d
rem ;r!laiie degree
st'ron a S; 1. view the Il ID IS nt ui''
graceful. its ing broad ms" showing
only IN elg,. an | appearing as slender
us a swor as weapoa. His tan IL
sharply :o....i. az his fias arc large
and of ra!,i,h CIT. He often atta'ns
:. length OF six feet. and weighs as
much as iisy paal!'. As.rsaes,," who's
due-out has dristel tito shoal water
Isor M into one of the shallow sbayoas
where he is un sling for crappie, WIN
suddenly be startlel by loaa splash
hard by. and IL he is quick enough he
may turn and catch glimpse Of a
Isboyel cat at work. The great fish
! will throw It's entire body out OF water,
double over in mid air, and descend
,eadrorelnost like a professional diver.
| He Is fec ling. and as he lives mostly
upon the tiny aniInalcul;e and creeping
| thinrs hidden In the soft muddy bot
tom. this leap is necessary to give hlm
impetus enough to maka the deep
| plunge. He drives his wide shovel TAR
| into the mud. and, turning up long
| fu1row. catches whatever food Is
washed out in the process.
.our people DO not care to eat these
cats. for thu. fle III is coarse and favored
with taste Of black mud. but 1t Is
| sold in the large towns or cities under
| various DISCUSSES with it's tell.tale head
and tail cut off to prevent recognition.
Only a few knowing folk. darEles Tor
the most pars. understand how to cook
shovel cats s. as TO make q palatablc
dish. They dig a hole in the ground,
line it with tat stones, and into this
tightly pack the Slices Of fish wrappe
in wet corn leaves and n lot Of sweet
potatoes. Thcy roof over this oven
with one large stone, and on top oulla
a fire. che fish and potatoes are left
to bake slowly for an hour or two, and
when the smoking mass is removed the
strong, muddy taste seems to have III
some way been baked out, and the
white flesh is delicious
':On light rod one of the big fell
lows will give lively tussel. but it re-
quires the patience of a job and the
enthusiasm of on Ike Walton to SIT a
whole afternoon Had broil under hot
Mississippi sun in the dreafy hope CT
hooking cat. The fish are TOO sick!s
IN biting to furnish reliable sport in
that Svay and the market fishermen
generally resort to nets to insure
catch.
"But the real hair-raising, Ling
stretching. bubble-tossing fun is spear
ing. We used to always choose gray
day when the sky was overcast and no
breeze blowing to ruffle the surface OF
the water. Two of us would set out
for the branch about two hours before
sunset, armed with short homemade
harpoon consisting of a steel barbed
head loosely set in a hickory shaft. To
ring in the lance-head was made fast
about>one hundred feet of heavy line.
Arriving at the bank of the creek we
would cut off a cottonwood limb to
lash to the end of our line, to act as a
float it we had to iet the whole bust
ness go overheard.
s.Then one would paddle the dngoat
while the other stood in the bow
watching for the shoveHers Ofcourse
we had to hunt only in the shadows.
not only because the fish were more
plentiful there, but because the spear
was uncertain in more than four or five
feet of water. When we had located
our victim. who would be turning
splashing somersauits far ahead. the
man at the paddles would make fsr
the spot where the shoveller last went
down. The sportsman, peering ahead,
could dimlv make out the huge fellow
at.his mud-plowi4g toll, and, waiting
till he was fairly over his Prey, would
send the steel awhiraipg.
What foam of yellow mud then;
and if he had struck a big one how our
leaky old dngout would roll and jump
as we were dragged up creek by ting
mad shoveller The furry is short,
however. for the steel soon exhausts
the energy and courage of the. fish.
But the first few 1noments5of excite
ment;are wild. Maryland many time
our dug-out upset and we would swim
and wade through the water and mud
to shore, dragging our shipwrecked
craft and our yet unconqnered captive
behind us.
s:Once I remember leaving school
with my cousin Jed at noon-time re-
cess, and hooking off to the creek for
gsoEellers.4s4We would both be well
ficggad il il were found out, but that
danger only added another charm. we
had hidden our spear under awillows
root the day before, and in a'sfeW
moments we had 1t and were afoat on