The Great Catfish Escape of 2005
By: Art Pasley
For the past several years, the City Public Service Energy Group of San Antonio, had a cove at Calaveras Lake netted off and stocked with some of the prettiest 3 to 5 pound channel catfish you could ever hope to catch, and catch is what they did. At last years C.A.S.T. / Kids Fish Day, I was shocked at the fish catching action and the size of the fish the kid's drug to shore. YES DRUG! The sound of 35 to 40 Zebco reels singing around the shoreline was music to any angler's ears. Fish after fish were hauled in by some very excited kids and volunteers. What a day of fishing that was!
This year, everyone arrived with hopes of another exciting day of rod breaking action. As we waited for the kids to arrive, one of the over zealous volunteers just couldn't wait and baited up a line and tossed it into the cove, expecting that old familiar zing.
Imagine the ribbing he got from all his friends as they watched in horror as the cork sat motionless on the water. "Maybe the weather is changing or maybe they ate before they left the hatchery" commented several of his friends. "HEY, MAYBE YOU JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO FISH"! yelled one of his good friends. "Put that rod away and let's get started, the kids are coming", he directed as the vans from the Good Samaritan Center of West Texas began to arrive.
Patty Gonzales, Scott Smith and all the volunteers from the CPS, (City Public Service Energy Group), have held the Kids Fish Day for many years. Their tireless efforts were easily noticeable as they started setting up for another great day at the lake with the kids. "Since our partnership with C.A.S.T. last year, this event has developed into exactly what we dreamed it would be", stated Scott Smith. "These kids need this opportunity away from their regular lives. They really face some serious problems each day and this gives them a little hope and encouragement. You have no idea what each of them go through every day" he added.
This partnership evolved after local businessman, Jim Behnken, and Wade Middleton, star of the very popular, nationally syndicated, Fishing and Hunting Texas T.V. show, were discussing the possibility of having a C.A.S.T. for Kids program for the kids in San Antonio. Wade advised Jim that he knew exactly how to make that happen and introduced Jim to Ms. Gonzales. With the CPS event already established, the partnership made a perfect fit and the rest is history.
With 28 kids from the Good Samaritan Center and another 10 or so volunteers children on hand, the fishing began and began and began? "Where are the catfish?" asked one of the volunteers. "Shouldn't they be biting a little better than this" asked another. Of course I had to throw in my two cents worth and responded, that's why they call it fishing instead of catching. That went over in a huge way but to everyone's surprise, no one was catching any catfish, but one of the volunteers did catch a snake. Very exciting!
Once the kids decided that catching was not the order of the day, they moved to a nearby fishing pier where the action was soon hot and heavy. Catfish, Tilapia and perch were biting like crazy off the sides of the pier, and as many of the kids enjoyed their boat rides, the others remained on shore or on the pier enjoying a wonderful day at the lake.
A great lunch was provided and I promise, the bite was on then! There is nothing better than chicken, sausage and onions slow cooked over a pit. As you can see from the pictures, there was plenty for everyone. The plaques were given out to the participants and after a few pictures, everyone was gone.
It seems that long after everyone left the lake with their new rod and reels, tackle boxes, plaques and enough dreams to last until next time, the net was pulled out only to find a huge hole in the middle. Let it be known that this is no longer considered a Cold Case and the file has been put away forever. Lake Calaveras can now be considered one of the best lakes in Texas to catch catfish. 750 pounds of rod breaking reel ripping 3 to 5 pound catfish.
The thrill of a C.A.S.T. event and the smiles on all the kids and volunteers was just as big this year as they were last year. It doesn't matter that fishing was slow or that all you catch, if anything, is a small perch. The thing that matters is that for a day in South Texas, a group of concerned people, Special People, met a group of kids needing some reassurance that life can be good, spent the day sharing the same hope of catching the big ones. From what I saw, everyone caught a "Special Thrill".
A special thank you to Patty Gonzales, Scott Smith, Jim Behnken, Wade Middleton and all the great people from San Antonio CPS Energy. What a special day at the lake!
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