Handgrabbing

[Greenhead22]

I like handgrabbing catfish too, grabbin' them off the trotline. I'm not reaching down in a barrel with the possibility of a loggerhead turtle in there.

[Canton_Coot_Killer]

You know what they say wider is better

Peewee, if that's the case, then I'm da' BEST!!

Do you do a lot of handgrabbin', I know they used to handgrab over at Lo' Head Dam but I haven't been over there in so long, I don't know if they still do or not. You may not even know where I'm talking about...
I remember seeing them wading out there many moons ago and asking my paw what they were doing. He said handgrabbin' for catfish, then tells me the art of it.
Of course I was rurnt from that day on because I guess it scarred me, must be a rush though.
But thinking about what GH22 said, what about an ol' loggerhead grabbin' you?? Surely you've got a story or know about somebody that was not so lucky one day while grabbin' huh??

[Greenhead22]

I have a friend that has only 4 fingers on his right hand now, so I will never handgrab.

[vicksburg]

When handgrabbing in artificial fish houses(barrels, tubs, boxes, etc.), if you make sure that there is no air in the piece, then snakes and turtles will drown if they do manage to get in. I don't reach in logs or things like that because there is a chance of air pockets and some critter making it his house. As long as you know what your running, then it's not all that dangerous.

[Duck Nawteek]

With those little fat fingers they could make a meal out of just one of em [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] Baaaaaaaaaaaawaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]

[jstanard]

Peewee,
I used to wade locfoma to bass fish too. There were so many watermoccasins in the lake, the gators were scared to get in the water. I'm 40 yards out up to my waist in lilly pads with nothing between me and nature but a pair of shorts and sneakers.

Handgrabbin's not for me...I've seen JAWS too many times. Sometimes the fish wins [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[Canton_Coot_Killer]

GH22, was that from a big ol' loggerhead thinkin' he was eating a catfish fingerlin'?

And Vicksburg, I guess that does make sense, my luck though was that they swim in there just to see what's going on and at the same time, here comes my hand that looks like 5 lil' catfish fingerlin's swimmin' along and "CHOMP"

[BigMule]

Other than a fat cat the only thing i've ever found in a barrel was the occasional brim. I've recently acquired an "itch" to put these vise grips on some Eagle Lake cats.

NO ANGEL, keep talking boats and we might do business. Looking for something aluminum around 14-16 feet with a minimum of 25hp motor. I figured i'd have to have at least that size motor to lug as many as 3 people around at a decent speed.

LETS TRY TO KEEP THIS VERY SHORT. I KNOW ADVERTISING AND PURSUING BUSINESS OVER MSDUCKS.COM IS A BIG NO NO! I HOPE THESE POSTS MAY BE LOOKED UPON AS ONE HUNTER HELPING THE FELLOW HUNTER OUT!

[peewee]

Canton coot killer, Vicksburg and No bull hit it on the head. Never grab out of anything that has air pockets in it. I have gotten my wife to handgrab out of the freon bottles before. I was so proud when she caught her first fish. She even broke his fins to get him out.

I believe this will be my 13 year handgrabbing and I haven't got a bad story to tell ya. Name of the game is just be smart and dont grab out of anything that has air pockets in it. Sometimes you will run across artificial stuff that is exposed just leave it alone.

[goosebruce]

GH22, you wont hand grab cause you know a dude with 4 fingers? Sheez man, you probably know more people missing fingers from farm equipment, but ya still eat dont ya?

Wuz fishing pickwick one time, way up bear creek. Some guys came hauling ass up in this lil jon boat, and as it slide to stop, one jumped over the side, and started rooting around under water... First time I had ever seen or heard of such. needless to say, I wasn't predisposed to throw my rods down. Not my gig, thankya very much. travis

[Greenhead22]

LOL...Goose. Jugs and trotlines do just fine when i'm going after catfish, sure don't need to grab them out of a barrel, already catch enough hell getting them off of the trotline.

[racksmacker]

we jsut started tryn' this handgrabbing, and we suck! We probably ran into about 20 or more fish in boxes at eagle this past weekend, and landed 2! But it was fun as hell.
we actually put out a few boxes, but some kids told us that everyone checks every box they can find. i don't want to step on anyones toes, so i was wondering if this was really correct ettiquette. i do spend alot of time at eagle, so if one of you veterans wants to teach this youngster the right way to do it, let me know.

[BigMule]

If someone sees you walking around in the water they will most likely make a mental note of EXACTLY where you are so they can come back another time to check your stuff. If your gonna put something out, do it when there's not a lot of people on the lake.

Yes, at Eagle Lake people don't refrain from checking other people's stuff. And others could careless if you confront them about it because after all it is public water. 80% of the people grabbin' haven't put out the first piece of their own at Eagle.

If you don't keep a low profile on the stuff you put out, then there is a very good possibility that it will be "run" four or five times a week. There's alot of people grabbin' up there these days and if your personal stuff is found you'll rarely ever catch a mess of fish.

BUT, if you do keep your stuff on the low down, then it ain't nothing to catch 60-70 fish that average about 6 or 7 pounds.

[shiloh]

One thing that may work better for you depending on how deep you want to go in this handgrabbing is to put you stuff in 8-10' of water and use diving gear to grab. This usually deters the weekeng grabbers. If they can't do it and stand on their feet they ain't gonna do it. Not to say that there is anything wrong with shallow grabbin, but anyone can check your stuff. You could also increase the average weights of your fish the deeper you go. This is where the big tabby's hide. Our biggest one last year was between 60 and 70 pounds(estimated). This fish was caught out of a sweetgum box in 10' of water.

[Unkljohn]

I've got friends that do it, and I'll just say it's not for me!!!! These guys will stick their arm into any hole they can find, up under a boat ramp, whatever!!! These crazy guys don't fool with the shallow water, they are after the big fish, 30 lbs. and up. They brought home several fish last year that were over 70 lbs. [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] I'm planning on going with them next weekend to shoot some video. If they get anything big I'll post some pics.