By Al Ward 
http://cjonline.com/sports/2012-07-18/al-ward-jim-and-doc-have-catfishing-down-science
I met Jim Runnels and Dr. Bob Hall early Saturday morning to go to Pomona Lake for a catfish lesson. We arrived at first light to beat the summer heat.
They launched the boat and it felt like we headed north. They had their Garmin fish finder on but they already knew where they had been catching catfish for the past 30 days.
When we arrived at a hump in the lake, they threw out a buoy and maneuvered the boat over a drop-off where a creek comes into the lake. We dropped an anchor front and aft.
Jim got the poles ready and opened a bucket of fermented soybeans and threw some into the lake in hopes of holding the fish in the area.
We put a soybean on our hook and marked the line with a red marker for the depth we wanted to fish.
It did not take long and we started catching fish. I don't know how many we threw back — we were only keeping 1½ to 3 pounders.
Doc was dipping some of his soybeans in a mix of stink bait that "Catfish Charlie" Bisnette had made up for the boys.
Doc had two poles going and said he was catching about 2 to 1 with the "Catfish Charlie" dipped soybeans.
In a little over two hours, we had our limit of 30 nice-sized fish.
I did hook a large carp that put up a good fight. Doc and Jim said they had never eaten carp, but I did years ago. Carp has lots of bones but the meat was good.
A friend of mine used to can carp in a pressure cooker. That's a poor man's salmon.
When we got back on land, they pulled up to the park rest area and stopped in the shade. I asked where we were going to clean the fish and they said right here.
Out of the back of the van came an old metal ironing board with a long hardwood plank on the top — hum — they really were going to fillet the fish right there.
Next, Doc opened the hood and hooked up his electric knife to the battery and started filleting. He had five-gallon buckets for the guts and heads. Jim had a fillet knife and trimmed the fish and dropped them into a bucket of ice water. My part of the lesson was to put the fish on the board for Doc. It was quite a sight. When we were finished, we had four plastic bags of nice white catfish fillets ready to go. Thanks, boys, it was a great lesson.
Jim had even fixed deer sausage sandwiches and chips for an early lunch. They plan it all.
Jim and Doc also do a lot of crappie fishing in the winter and spring around Topeka and out at Glen Elder.
It was quite interesting to be a part of their cleaning production. They go every weekend to fish somewhere and have the process down to a science. Good for them.
■ I lost a good hunting buddy last week. Phil Howard passed away.
I hunted with Phil in New Mexico for scaled quail, South Dakota for pheasant and Kansas for upland game.
Phil's birthday was Nov. 25 and mine is the 26th so we spent many birthdays hunting together near Mankato with our North Carolina friends.
Phil's bird dog Crocket was a big running English setter with a great nose while my Brittanys and shorthairs were close working dogs, so they worked well together.
Later, when we went west to hunt, Phil would bring his son, Clint, and his grandson, Jake, to hunt along with my son, Dennis and grandson, Tyler and me. Thanks, Phil, for the great memories.
Phil enjoyed introducing youth to outdoor activities. He was a Boy Scout leader, hunter safety instructor and whenever Quail Unlimited had a youth function, Phil was there helping out for the kids.
That's why Phil's family has set up the Phil Howard Memorial Fund for Youth Hunting and Fishing, in care of Core First Bank & Trust. Your donations would be appreciated and Phil will be missed.
http://cjonline.com/sports/2012-07-18/al-ward-jim-and-doc-have-catfishing-down-science
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