I pulled up to the Big Blue River at dusk. It was a hot Kansas summer night. I had fishing rods in hand. Drinks and worms filled the cooler. It was going to be a good night. I sat down in my old trusty fold up chair and cast both lines into the eddy next to the bank. One rod had a basic bobber, split shot, and j hook set up. The other had a slide weight with a circle hook on the end. Both were baited with worms. I sat back and admired the river. It wasn’t anything particularly pretty, most plains rivers aren’t, but, there was a subtle beauty. The water burbled away while an owl hooted off in the distance. Was that a coyote singing over the next hill? I thought so but couldn’t confirm. The sun had almost set when the bobber sank. I set the hook and reeled in a nice two or three pound channel catfish. That fish became four and those four became five. All of them became dinner.
A channel catfish. Photo from the USFWS
Hunters and fisherman love talking about connecting to their ancestors through the outdoors. Consume any outdoor media based here in the United States and you’ll hear on repeat that we need to preserve America’s hunting and fishing heritage. I don’t think there’s a better example than a simple fishing trip to the local river. My life in 21st-century Kansas is very different then some Native American fisherman thousands of years ago but we both sat in the same bank catching the same fish on a muggy evening. That’s one of the beautiful things about fish. They connect people together across time and space. Often times through the catching and eating of said fish.
In the channel cat’s case, they’ve been a key source of food for people in North America from the very beginning. The earliest known channel cat fossils date back approximately 20 million years ago. By the time people got to North America around 20 or so thousand years ago channels were well established in rivers and lakes in the middle of the continent. The meat is mild and tender which makes it perfect for a variety of cuisines. I don’t remember how I cooked those fish but the how doesn’t matter. I caught, cleaned, cooked, and ate them. Just like so many others before me.
Editor’s note: Thanks for the support in the first month! I opened up paid subscribtions for five bucks a month. Everything will always remain free and open to the public but wanted to give readers an option to support me monetarily. See you all in a couple of weeks for some in-depth history of catfishes!