Nail it

Grandma Beanie and I had a visitor today who loves fishing. I love fishing. This is sounding really positive.

Joyce is a friend of a friend who became a friend in her own right because that is how Grandma Beanie works. I had never met Joyce before but can tell that we are going to get along just fine. She’s bringing fishing rods.

I am going to haul out Grandpa John’s rods and get them ready. I am excited.

Joyce and I talked about the rule of you-catch-em-you-clean-em, and how best to skin a catfish. She uses a modern method that involves a cutting board with a clamp attached to one end. I still prefer a large nail, a hammer and a nearby tree, just as Uncle Johnny taught me. Just nail that fish through the head, belly-side to the tree, cut a shallow line all around the body just south of the gills and straight down its back, get a grip on opposite sides of that skin and pull. Downward. Pliers are helpful if fingers prove to be too slippery. It’s like skinning a hog, but without large scalding pots and scrub brushes. And it would be really difficult to nail a hog to a tree.

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