Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’!
I don’t have a memory of when or where I caught my first catfish. I do know I was a young fellah and it was either at Lake Whittington, Three Mile Lake or Macon Lake.
I’ve been around catfish my entire life and my daddy got into the business in the late 70s but like most folks, couldn’t find the return on investment and those ponds would soon be baited with soybeans again. Catfish were supposed to be a savior when the King of the Turn Row, Cotton, lost its crown. But the market never caught up with the production.
Those dang yankees still won’t eat enough catfish while they fill their plate with God only knows what type of fish they find in their grocery and big box stores.
I love catfish. I love trying to get them to nibble on stuff that stinks to high heaven under that muddy water. As a kid, I’d be in the boat when my dad and his buds set trotlines, ‘yo yo’s’ and nets and configured old Clorox jugs into a cool jug fishing tool. Each style of fishing would bring home a treasure trove for a fish fry.
There’s absolutely nothing like a fried catfish though these days folks have broiled and baked and created so many dishes out of catfish, you really just can’t go wrong unless you try to come up with some congealed catfish salad.
Don’t get any ideas and don’t invite me over for anything remotely like that. In my book, catfish was meant to be fried. And there’s plenty of folks that know how to fry em up just perfectly all across Sunflower County but I have to say when I’m looking for that home cooked delight, I find myself heading toward Leflore County to my father’s town of Itta Bena and find Larry Kelly of Larry’s Fish House. He’s been frying em up for more than four decades and it just keeps getting better.
There’s plenty of other places scattered across Sunflower County that know how to bread and fry this delectable delight. And around the corner from The E-T office is the Queen of Catfish, Evelyn Roughton, and all of their catfish delights.
Her daughter, Jennifer Roughton-Schaumburg is the princess of catfish and keeps The Crown filled with plenty of creative catfish infused flavors. But nothing congealed with catfish that I’m aware of.
These days there are plenty of farmers who have learned how to cull a few cents per pound on the pond. Moorhead’s Will Nobile was awarded Catfish Farmer of the Year and keeps cranking out channel cats for the whole world to enjoy.
Delta Pride is still in existence though it’s picked up and moved down 49 to Humphreys County, but the label and fish can still be found with plenty of Sunflower County folk’s fingerprints on em from start to finish.
Yes, its Catfish Month and we need to celebrate it, eat it and enjoy it all month and then some. If you’ve got a cool catfish story, hit me up, 248.298.944 or writerstowers@gmail.com. I’d love to hear it!
