The Suburbia News (Seagoville, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 2, 2007 Page: 3 of 12
twelve pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page 3, The Suburbia News, August 2, 2007
OUTDOORS
Catfishing With Strike King’s John Barnes
By Luke Clayton, Outdoors Editor
What Is It All About?
By:John Shelly
John Barnes show off a feisty catfish that went for his Catfish
Dynamite (BBO flavor). Photo by Luke Clayton
John Barnes, owner of Strike King Lure Co., rigs with some of his
Catfish Dynamite. Photo by Luke Clayton
CATFISHING WITH
STRIKE KING’S JOHN
BARNES
Luke Clayton
On a small lake in east
Texas recently, I spent the
morning fishing with a fellow
that is, at his core, a bass fish-
ermen and, a darned good one
at that; but we were fishing for
catfish. Why, you are wonder-
ing about now, would a self
professed black bass “nut” and
lure company owner spend
time catfishing? FUN is the
primary reason but GOOD
EATS is another!
John Barnes is the owner
of Strike King Lure Company.
Strike King has for the past
forty years or so, been a leader
in designing and producing
lures for bass fishermen. If
you turn to page 6 of their cur-
rent catalog, you’ll see the
entire page devoted to their
line of catfish catching prod-
ucts that range from dip
worms to dip baits to their
“Huckleberry” that is actually
a container for the Dynamite
Paste with a hook built in.
John Barnes has become a
catfisherman. I know, I was
there on that little lake yester-
day when he “guided” me to
some of the hottest catfish
action I have experienced in a
long time.
“Look at that rascal bend
the rod” he said as his fishing
rod bowed heavily toward the
lake’s surface and I scrambled
for the net. The blue weighed
about 10 pounds but he had
caught a 35 pounder from the
same spot a week earlier. John
had rigged us up with his
BBQ flavor Catfish Dynamite
under floaters and we were
fishing just out from the wind-
ward side of the lake. Catfish
were holding in the cover of
some lay down trees and
brush and making quick for-
ays out to hit our baits dan-
gling under the floaters. “Bass
fishing requires a great deal of
finesse but this is the kind of
non stop action that gets folks
hooked on fishing. I love to
take kids out for catfish, espe-
cially when they are biting
like they are today. It makes
fishermen out of them
quickly.” he added.
For about the past dec-
ade, Strike King has been pro-
ducing catfish baits and Bar-
nes has watched the sport of
catfishing grow in a big way
since he developed his first
baits. “With all the interest
generated by tournaments and
Get a Cool Cash rebate of up to
$1,100 on anew Carrier Infinity
System. For year-round comfort
and energy savings, nothing
could be cooler.
• Unmatched Carrier exper-
tise, efficiency and reliability
• Residential, commercial and
more national coverage of the
sport, catfishing has gained
interest nationwide. I am very
excited that we now have a
national publication devoted
to the sport: Catfish Gold
Magazine. The thing that I
enjoy most about catfish is the
fact that they are usually
pretty easy to catch, once you
learn their seasonal patterns
and know where to fish for
them.
Strike King has on its
pro staff some “heavy hitter”
bass pros such as Kevin Van-
Dam, Denny Bruaer, Mark
Davis Shaw Grigsby, and a
host of others. Barnes says
that many folks might be sur-
prised to learn that the major-
ity of bass pros he has become
close friends with through the
years also enjoy fishing for
catfish. When you stop and
think about it, what fisherman
WOULDN’T enjoy fishing for
catfish. Catfish are usually
willing to take a bait, they pull
hard and when dusted with
cornmeal and dropped into a
skillet of hot cooking oil,
they’re tough to beat as table
fare.
The lake we were fishing
also has a healthy population
of black bass. Barnes personal
Turn to the Experts
Phone: 972-287-7997
www.precisionair-inc.com
TACL-A1265E
TACL-B1265R
best from these waters was a
10 pounder but he’s seen a 13
pounder caught here. What
would a day on the water with
a basser be complete without
dragging a jig through some
heavy cover or working a
spinnerbait over the top of a
submerged grassbed. After we
landed a big cooler full of blue
and channel catfish for a big
upcoming fish fry, Barnes
handed me a bait casting rod
rigged with a Strike King
Spinnerbait and he began
pitching a jig to heavy cover.
In about 30 minutes of fishing,
Barnes landed a couple of
bass and I lost one that, as we
say, “moved a lot of water”,
obviously a nice size
fish. During the last 30 min-
utes of our catfishing, we had
put about 10 catfish in the
cooler! Beginning to see why
I and a whole bunch of bass
fishermen also love to fish for
catfish?
The first ever prepared
bait catfish tournament is
scheduled for August 11 at
Lake Texoma by Bass Pro
Shop’s Big Cat Quest. Con-
testants can use only prepared
baits and tournament owner
Ken Freeman says first place
will pay $10,000 and a total of
$24,000 will paid out. Weigh
in will be at the Choctaw Coli-
seum in Durant. Entry fee for
2-person teams is $75. Pre
registration is the Choctaw
Coliseum August 10 from 5-9
pm. This includes a “meet and
greet” with bait makers and
industry leaders. For more
information, call 731-234-
1888 or go online to
www.kenfreemanoutdoorpro
motions.com
$-v.
Outdoor writer Luke Clayton
from Combine is editor of
CATFISH NOW MAGA-
ZINE
P.O. BOX 117
SEAGOVILLE, TX 75159
CATFISH NOW IS THE
ONLY “CATFISH” MAGA-
ZINE IN U.S. but the publica-
tion also contains a few hunt-
ing relates articles in each is-
sue, including a Bowhunting
101 written by Luke. A sub-
scription is $16 per year (12
issues). Please mail check or
money order to above address.
industrial
TXU Authorized Dealer
with TXU financing avail-
able to qualified customers
FREE
UV LIGHT OR
12”Yni(I\SlIATK)\
With purchase of Carrier infinity System
For a Limited time only
Call for details
Cannot be combined with other coupons or specials
Expires 01/01/07
One deal that’s right
on the money.
Ask anyone why they
hunt, and 9 out of 10 will
tell you it’s because they
enjoy it. In fact, maybe 10
out of 10 since hardly any-
one actually hunts anymore
for the sole purpose of pro-
viding a food source. Even
the lucky few that make
their living hunting will tell
you they do what they do
because they enjoy it.
Think for a moment about
why you enjoy hunting. Is it
the challenge of matching
wits and skills with a big
whitetail buck? Is it the
sounds of the woods com-
ing alive at daybreak? Is the
fragrance of the blossoms
from a wild plumb thicket
that fills the air on a morn-
ing spring turkey hunt?
What does it for you?
What’s it all about?
What makes a hunt enjoy-
able for you might not ap-
peal at all to the next guy
but that’s not the point.
Well, actually, that is the
point! The point is, that you
should do what makes you
happy and not feel like you
have to do what others
around you are doing to
have an enjoyable hunt.
For me, it doesn’t have to
be about harvesting an ani-
mal every time I go to the
woods. If that were the
case, I’d be disappointed
more times than not. But I
enjoy just going hunting.
Taking a nice animal is just
a bonus, but it sure isn’t
necessary for me to have
considered the hunt a suc-
cess.
I enjoy sitting in a tree
stand and just watching the
game come and go from a
feeder or pass on a nearby
trail. When my hunting pro-
(NAPSI)-Many sports fans
have taken to tailgating in their
own backyard—firing up the bar-
becue grill for their at-home tail-
gate party. That doesn't mean,
however, that team spirit has to
suffer. Decorating items include
everything from collegiate pen-
nant flags, banners and canopies
with team logos, to food and
drink products that declare team
loyalty.
Here are tips to help you
have a safe, easy and fun at-home
tailgate party:
• Start barbecuing low 'n'
slow cooking foods like brisket
or ribs early in the day so they'll
be ready to eat when you are. But
grill colorful assorted veggies,
com on the cob or burgers after
guests arrive so they can enjoy
the tantalizing aroma.
• For a simple but sensa-
tional dessert, place a sheet of
heavy-duty aluminum foil on the
grill, split bananas lengthwise
and place on foil. Sprinkle with
brown sugar and cinnamon, dot
with butter and cook over me-
dium-low heat. Serve over ice
cream.
• For self-serve drinks, fill
a plastic kiddie pool with drinks
and ice.
• Extend the team spirit by
displaying hand towels and soaps
in team colors in your bathrooms.
gressed to the point that I
realized I didn’t have to kill
an animal every time I went
to the woods, I began to
learn a lot more about the
game I was hunting. You’d
be surprised how much you
can learn about an animal’s
characteristics and habits by
just watching them around a
feeder. You learn what the
subtle little body move-
ments mean and what they
signal to you that is about
to happen. You hear sounds
that you never recognized
before. You begin to recog-
nize individual animals.
And in time, you can even
see the animals mature over
several hunting seasons.
I enjoy taking pictures
and video from the stand
and sharing with my friends
and hunting partners. Re-
gardless of what else I
might or might not need,
my bow and my camera go
to the stand with me every
time. If you ever thought
hunting a trophy whitetail
was not enough of a chal-
lenge, try throwing video
into the mix! But I do it be-
cause I enjoy it - not be-
cause I think it’s something
I have to do.
I enjoy bringing others
into the sport and teaching
them the “ropes”. As a
hunting outfitter, I have the
opportunity to meet many
hunters that are relatively
new to this game and it’s
refreshing to me to see
them so eager to learn and
see them become consumed
with the pleasure of this
sport.
And hunting with my
kids! Wow! Some of the
best times I’ve ever spent
hunting have been with my
children. For me, this is a
• Rent a TV projector to
broadcast the game outdoors. Use
a wall of the house as a screen—
or hang a large white sheet to
project against. Or if you really
love backyard entertaining, invest
in an outdoor TV set that is made
to withstand the weather and can
easily be cleaned with a garden
hose.
• Before the fire gets going,
put down a Collegiate Grill Pad—
a fun and practical way to show
support for a favorite team and
attract guests' attention. The pad
acts as a barrier to protect decks,
patios and porches from the in-
evitable spills, drippings, grease
splatters and errant sparks that
could leave unsightly stains or
even damage or destroy these
expensive surfaces.
There are more than 80
officially licensed, full-color
team logos from colleges and
universities across the country,
and more are being added all the
time. The pads make an afford-
able and unique gift for students,
parents and alumni.
You can find them in most
stores that sell grills and barbecue
accessories and in college book-
stores. You can find available
logos and locate a dealer at
www.grillpad.com.
Many sports fans are firing
up the barbecue grill for an at-
home tailgate party.
pleasure that can’t be
matched. Being there with
them when they harvested
their first deer was some-
thing that I’ll remember
even when they’ve long for-
gotten it. The smile on their
faces and the excitement in
their voices is a trophy that
no mount on the wall can
compare with.
Don’t get the idea that I
don’t still get excited when
I harvest a mature buck, a
fine doe, or a long beard
gobbler. All these things
still excite me as much as
the day I did it for the first
time, but I’ve learned that I
don’t have to harvest an
animal to enjoy a successful
hunt. A successful hunt for
me is one that I got to go
on. When I get to watch the
animals in the woods, the
hunt was a success. When I
hear a turkey gobble from
the roost, the hunt was a
success. When I get to see
the sun rising through the
trees and it warms my face,
the hunt was a success.
Hunting should be fun. It
should be something that
you enjoy. It should be
something that you can’t
wait to do again. When it
becomes such an obsession
that you can’t have a good
time unless you harvest an
animal, then it quits being
fun and starts being a job!
And I already have all the
jobs I want.
It doesn’t always have to
be about harvesting an ani-
mal or getting good footage
on video. Sometimes it’s
okay just to go to the woods
for the sake of being in the
woods. Sometimes it’s okay
just to lean against a tree
and take a nap in the warm
mid-day sun. It’s okay to
take your kids and watch
them soak up all the things
that make this sport the
thing we all enjoy so much.
It’s okay to just have fun.
For me, that’s what it’s all
about!
The Suburbia
News
Your Home Town Newspaper
Proudly Saving Balch Springs,
Combine, Crandall and Seagoville
Suburbia News is a regis-
tered periodical #
(USP991100). Published
every Thursday at 115 A
Hall St. Seagoville, TX.
75159. Mailing Address
P.O. Box 130, Seagoville,
TX 75159. Periodical
Postage Paid at Seagoville,
TX. 75159.
SUBSCRIPTION
$23 Per Year
Phone: 972-287-3277
Fax: 972-287-3278
Stand Price .50 per issue
Postmaster: Send address
changes to Suburbia News,
P.O. Box 130, Seagoville,
TX 75159
Member of the Texas Press
Association.
Dead Lines:
Monday by Noon
Email for Advertisements
and Letters to the editor:
seagonews@sbcglobal.net
Opinions and views expressed in let-
ters to the editor do not necessarily
represent the views or opinions of
Pugh Media LLC or its affiliates. All
Rights Reserved.
BBQ With Team
Spirit
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Suburbia News (Seagoville, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 2, 2007, newspaper, August 2, 2007; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth636412/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .