| In the summer of 2021 Jess Newsome and George Kickinghorse were canoing across a cove in the Audibon Lake. This is basically where the Missouri River gets its start. It was early August and they were going to get in some serious catfishing before the season turned. Some years the weather turned earlier than others. By going in the early part of August they were guaranteed to enjoy the last of the summer warm nights. It might have been just a tad early for catching the end of the summer run that flatheads, bluecats and channel cats are known to do. It seems they like to bulk up before the water gets cold and they start searching for deeper water to spend their winter. Getting out a couple weeks earlier than their usual late summer ritual provided the guarantee of much warmer nights which both the men appreciated. Thirty was in their rear-view and sleeping on the ground was taking much more of a toll than it had ten years previous. They put their canoe into the water shortly after sun up and by mid-afternoon they had reached the spot they chose to try this year. It was a little further upstream, if you wanted to word it that way. Audibon lake could be said to be the beginning of the Missouri River although if you asked Jess he thought it didn’t officially start until out of the Audibon and into the next lake which at the moment he couldn’t recall the name but he thought it was something Native-American. If it was important enough he would have asked George who probably knew but to be honest he didn’t really care. The spot they found had a sand bar they could fish next to; it was his experience that this time of year it was a good place to catch some nice sized cats. They weren’t necessarily looking to catch the monsters. They were fun but the best eating channels, flatheads and blues were the ones which could fit into the pan. Of course they were seeking to catch more than enough to fill their pan. They had brought a couple of coolers filled with ice. They would catch the fish at night and clean them in the early mornings and then get the fillets on ice. They had enough supplies and ice to stay out for several days but with luck they would be ready to go back after a couple of nights or three. If they were unlucky and the ice held out they would stay four nights. next page |  |