After the loss of my grandpa's boat I decided to go ahead and purchase an amazing craft made by G3 Boats. It's an all welded, aluminium craft. In this case it's considered a "Deluxe Jon Boat." Anyways I have a few pictures posted over in "Just Cause." I will be picking the boat up Saturday from the dealer and will get a few pictures up with my digital camera.

This is an exciting time for me as there are a few uncharted rivers near my home. Both of which hold large fish. I have come to the conclusion that we are not exhausting our fishing options very well. The potential for trophy class fish is meerly minutes away, and need only to be found. The fishing pressure in these areas is supposed to be substantially less than that of the waters we fish in AL. My long term goal is to catch and break at least one of the Florida state catfish records. I believe with the tools I now have at my disposal and the "Gilman fishing knowledge." I can achieve this. I will be posting on any current events or trips that are associated with this goal, as well as trips in general. For those interested I am going to post the current Florida records in "The Knowledge Base." I will also link to the page of notes and specifications on my plan. If you are ever interested on attending one of these outtings please let me know. Id be glad to have you along and you might catch a fish!

Link: http://www.gilman.weebly.com/notes.html

So here we are on day three of our trip. This was probably the most uninteresting day of the whole trip so it will be some what short. But before I get into that, let me ease your mind on Paul's Trophy fish.

So after dinner that night (on day two) we hoped online to verify our mystery drum fish. And luckily...it turns out that Paul had caught a "Black Drum." Which is primarily a saltwater species of drum. Which makes sense due to all the brackish water in the river. The current AL state record is around 60lbs I believe. So this put Paul's mind at ease.

So onto day three...we woke completely whipped. The four us looking like drugged up homeless folk. We were slightly tired but more fired up than ever. Paul raised the bar just a hair on day two. And Zach had yet to catch a large fish. The plan was to start the day out catching a "brem" or two to use as cut bait in our catfish hole. So we put in that morning at Byrnes Lake and realized that we forgot ice for our drinks. So Ed was nice enough to go back to the gas station and grab a bag while we fished a few yards from the boat dock. The water didn't seem as brackish today and Hurricane Ike had already made landfall in Texas. So there wasn't as much wind blowing water up the river. After wasting a lot of time we decided to head back out to the main river once again. We stuck to the right banks trying to come up with some fresh bait. Yet only to encounter more smaller catfish. To make a long story short we caught three jail fish for bait and I lost a small flounder. It bumped against the side of the boat when I was pulling it out of the water, and it got off my line. I was quickly told by Zach and Paul that "the magazines don't tell ya about bumpin the side of the boat." mockingly of course. I suppose I was due for a cold shot ;-) Anyways, we eventually made our way back to the catifhs hole...or should I say the crab hole. We sat and sat, nothing but tugs from crabs. So we moved up and down the river a few yards looking at the fish finder, when we saw big fish we would park at that part of the shore. Then cast out. On our second spot while trying this "run and gun" fishing tactic, Zach finally had a hit! Another huge fish! I was hoping the rod would stop bending for fear of breaking. This was a beast of a fish, jolting hard and tearing line out of the reel. We scrambled to get the net and camera ready, all the while telling Zach what to do. There wasn't much more reason he needed to throw us all out of the boat if he wanted too (which im sure he did.) When he pulled the rod to him to try and winch the beast some. This fish, whatever it was, wasn't going have it! It jerked real hard and broke loose somehow. We had a moment of silence...Zach was left in disbelief....his second big fish lost before we could even see it.

That was about all the exciting action that day before we called it quits and ending our last day of fishing this trip.

 

So without further adu* - day 2 of our intense fishing trip. Well it pretty much started out the same as day 1 minus the "almost sinking of a boat." We put in at Cloverleaf landing which is about 3 miles south of Byrnes Lake on the river. First order of business was to get mean with a few big fish. Paul had set the standard on day 1 that needed to be topped. I had a spot in mind that I had not yet tried due to the lack of electronics (fish finder) at the time. This abyss of a hole was said to be some 100+ feet deep. And can be seen about 200 yards from the landing. - Now before I jump too far ahead, there is a short story that must be told. If you think you have ever seen a redneck I challenge you. You better have something slight of Bigfoot to bring to the table. Upon launching the boat this.....man....approached. I don't believe my description will do this man justice but I will try for all im worth. Standing before us from head to toe...flip flops (hairy feet) up to the skinniest legs. From here a pair of shorts (most likely hippie shorts from the 70's) to one of the roundest, must buldgeonous beer bellies (dirty white t-shirt was on thankfully) to some what hairy scronny arms holding....take a guess....thats right....a Budweiser. Further on up to the face is what id like to call a "dirty man's black beard." Not thick but prickly, splotchy, and black. In fact the mustache hair was darker and more prominent...so maybe the idea was to get a beard back? (past tense - not that I thought this guy could own enough money to buy a razor.) Then the most interesting feature was the reverse Nascar hat (didn't catch which Car#) which split this 80's metal Metallica hair due right in half. Shoulder length, black, greasy, matted dirty man's hair (this guy might be what people are describing as Bigfoot) So after standing an uncomfortable ten feet from us and the boat, Rocky (he looked like a "Rocky" to me) asks us if we're going fishing. Lets ponder a moment...

Fishing Rods, boat, cooler, fish finder, fish net, worm bucket, crickets..?

So we (Paul, Zach and I) nod and say "yeah." He responded, "Whatch ya'll fishin for?" - If my memory serves me correctly I believe Paul responded "Anything that will bite." - Now let me stop yet again...my cousin Zach has this "quietness factor" about him when something unusual occurs. Like a random Sasquatch-man-nascar-fan standing withing a close touching distance. His reaction is unsettling to me in this respect. I think in his mind he's got this scenario going on, something to this effect.

"I didn't say anything....I don't know these guys. (the rest of us) Have you ever heard of Holt?? Yeah im from there!"

He plays Mr.Quiet, he's not "comitting" himself to this strangers evil plan to overthrow us at any minute. Something along those lines. We'd be the next "Deliverance" and he'd escape to tell an epic story about how he fought ten Cloverleaf rednecks to get away by the skin of his teeth (or however the saying goes)

So on with the trip. I state the obvious to Rocky by saying the water was way up. He responded with a tone that gave me the impression he was thinking "What kind of retarded wanna-be fisherman are these guys. Look at the guy with the top hat!" (Paul) - So Rocky wished us luck and Ed finally made it to the boat after parking the Blazer. And off we went to the 100ft hole. We scouted out the hole paying attention to the fish finder and to say the least we spotted some big fish. So we decided to try parking next to the big bluff bank and cast out towards the deeper water. Not even five minutes with the bait in the water Zach's rod takes a slow bend. He announces that he has something huge, and I must say that I believed him. After a very short moment, whatever huge beast was tampering with his bait decided to play a nice trick on Zach and hung him up. I only knew the frustration. Well actually, to tell you what great anglers we are...we were all hung up! About six lines total, so we proceeded with the un-hanging of our lines and decided we would drift through the big hole. With the strong gusts of wind from Hurricane Ike hundreds of miles out in the Gulf it was an easy task. To make a long uninteresting story short, we didn't do any good. And the water was extra salty/brackish. So from there we headed up to a famous spot known as McVoey - pronounced MACK-E-VO-EY. Many a Gilman fish has hit the cooler up ole McVoey...buttt....not today. With the river up and water brackish today's fishing was looking grim. So we headed back to our previous days spot on the right hand side of the main river a little further up from the mouth of Byrnes Lake. And finally...some fish! More small cats and a jail fish (sheeps head) which we would use as cut bait later. I noticed at one point a large animal crossing the half mile strecth of water between the shore and Gravine Island. A beast of a wild boar! I could best describe it as looking like a full grown moose without antlers from afar. If I had to guess id say over 300lbs easy. And it swam clean across the whole river to our side of the shore. (WOW!) So as the afternoon drew in we decided to head up to our "monster hole."

So with the boat in place and the lines out, we caught crabs! The underwater devils of our Big Cat Hole. At least 30 minutes went by without so much as a bite (minus the crabs.) This was not a good sign as I knew enough about fishing this hole to know when the bite is "on." As we were waiting a boat with two amazing looking "trailor folk" were approaching in their small Jon boat. Both shirtless and one armed with a decent sized rifle. As if speaking in a different language the armed man cried out "Ya'll seen any critta?" - We all looked at each other and I stated that we had seen a 500lb wild hog cross the river. The unarmed boat driver replied in a retorted unbelieving "Five hundred pound...." he gave me a very uninterested look. I almost laughed but then remembered they had the gun. So then they asked if we tried to drown it. Again I almost laughed but realized these guys were serious. We simply left it at "no." So then the armed man announced they had seen two dead/drowned hogs floating a few yards up river from our spot. After they left we agreed on the more likely story.

So with all the fantastic drama occuring I suppose the fish had gotten stirred up. Next thing we knew Paul was holding onto his rod  as if he were trying to rescue a drowning man. His rod arked over like a rainbow and he had this look of disbelief on his face. But a twinkle in his eye that told me he was going to catch this fish. After a near panic once we all realized what was happening I grabbed the net and Zach grabbed the camera. This was an outrageous fish, it wasn't going to budge. I knew he had something similar to what I had the prior day (but missed.) This unknown beast was stripping line from his reel. I knew it was enormous because I adjusted the drag a little under it's tightest possible setting earlier. Paul fought the fish back though like a pro boxer. Trading licks with the fish to gain line. Five long minutes went by and the fish went up river and back down before finally emerging. What I hoped to be a 40+lb catfish turned out to be a "mystery fish." Like a huge drum of some sort. Which later wouldn't be far from the truth. I scooped the massive fish into the net and could hardly lift it over the boat (had it not been for the Beanie Weenies I ate earlier, I doubt if I coulda) So there in the net lay this fish that could swallow a mans leg. We all stared at it in disbelief not knowing what to do with it. In fact we actually discussed what to do next for about five minutes while the poor fish was dying in the net. So we finally decided to weigh it in the net and take pictures with the digital camera. We then decided it would be best to release it - which we did. This exceptional catch gave us new energy and a reason to sit out another hour or two on this hole in hopes that Zach might land his first big fish. Nearly five minutes after releasing the fish we noticed it a few yards down river floating on the top of the water. We were all very bummed at the sight, we knew we had killed it (not intentionally.) So we decided that we would pick it up on the way back to the landing. Well as time went by and we discussed the possibility of Paul catching a record Drum fish, the tide was slowly but surely carrying the enormous fish down river and eventually out of sight. But we were greedy, we wanted more....bigger...but that never happened. On the way back to the landing Ed made a truck down the opposite side of Gravine Island, away from where the fish most likely was drifting. Making the claim that it was too rough to go that way...but something in the back of my mind was teliing me "you better get that record fish or you'll be sorry." Needless to say we continued on our current route and never retrieved - So that night at dinner we broke out the Alabama Freshwater record booklet. Freshwater Drum = 41lbs! 1960 something! Well Pauls was 42lbs!!! He just defeated the record fish! A forty plus year record....and we watched the fish float slowly out of sight because we were too lazy to undo the boat because we thought we would catch something bigger!!!! How stupid could we be!? And whats worse was the idea that the "Critta" boys would find it and claim they caught it!

Paul wasn't looking to good...he had this "im going to be sick" look on his face. This needed to be verified...did we just watch the record Drum float out of sight? - The answer comes on my next blog - Day 3.

Stay tuned!

Well first off welcome to the official "Gilman" website. There may be other sites out there with the same name. But this is the only "true" Gilman site. This has been a project long overdue. Thanks to some inspiration from long time friend Paul "The World Record Fish" Bentley.

Well first off let me say what a great time on the river this last week. Good times with old friends and family. Fishing the mighty Tensaw (or the brackish I should say for now.) Our trip started out a little shakey with Hurricane Ike staring down our sights threatening to over throw our plans. But as fate would have it, we got on the water ready for a biggun. On deck this trip we have our fearless leader and Captain Ed Gilman. An old buddy from back in the "growin up days" - Paul "The World Record" Bentley (more on that name later.) And back by popular demand, Mr. Zach "The New York" Levey. And of course yours truly.

So let me kick off day one. I was extra excited as this was the day I would finally put my grandpa Gilman's boat in the water for the first time in a few years. I had been working on it for the past year with a few interruptions along the way. The weather was a bit breezy and over cast at times as Ike had the clouds rolling in and out all day. After some brief mehanical issues with the motor on my boat starting we were off. It was gonna be a hot summer day, but we knew the fish were biting. We launched at Byrnes Lake located towards the "lower end" as we call it. Which is just the lower portion of Tensaw river/Mobile Delta. We would head out the mouth of Byrnes and fish the right hand side of the bank. With Paul and Ed in one boat, and Zach and I in the other. We started off the day right with a few taunts about who was going to fill the cooler first and catch the biggest fish. We hit the fish quick, and suprisingly they were catfish (which ended up being about the only thing biting the whole trip - not complaining, just saying.) After about an hour or so Zach noticed some water coming in the back "Hmm, thats never good" I thought. Well to make a long story short, the transom of my boat was rotted and the motor mount busted through. Luckily my bilge pump was up and running, and with an emergency run back to the landing we made it boat and all. I was a little frustrated as many hours were put into fixing this boat, and now it was pretty well ruined. Well with a little more than half a day left I put my frustrations aside and loaded up with Zach in the infamous green boat. Who says four people can't fish out of that boat!? From here we headed back out to the main river and hit the catfish hard some more before finally deciding to head over to our secret "Gilman Catfish Hole." With a sheep head in the cooler (saltwater fish - signs of the brackish water moving in from Mobile bay) we cut it up and rigged our heavy rods. I'll be the first to say that when you have one mullet to use for cut bait, don't trust it to anyone over the age of thirty. You may encounter some....accidents...anyways, back to the story. We were in for a wild ride! The cat hole was on fire today. With Paul and Zach a little skeptical about our past catches at this same spot, 15 minutes passed by before a single hit. No sooner had Zach suggested this spot was "no good" when my rod went diving! I yanked it up and BAM! the hook was set. Not a huge fish but a nice-un! A short battle ended with the first 10lb cat in the boat. Now my rule is anything over 10lbs goes back. This guy was going in the cooler. We had a fish fry to look forward too (as if we didn't have enough catfish already.) Not soon after my catch ended Paul's first big freshwater fish started. A 12lb Bluecat to be exact. Paul's biggest fish of his life - yet soon to be out done twice over. With luck running against Ed and Zach I had yet another hit! This one was a little better and more fired up. At which point the fish ran up river made a sharp left turn toward the bank and launched out of the water like a missle. An 11lb brute that went back in the water along with Paul's 12lb. I was on fire! Another hit, this time we had a monster! My rod bent over like a limp twizzler on the kittydid. I had (and still have yet) never felt such a strong fish. Whatever this beast was decided he/she was not moving an inch. I thought I was hung for a minute and lost the fish when all the sudden it would yank back twice really hard. My adrenaline was maxed and I was trying to gain some line on it slowly. After about five minutes I could feel it start to move upwards. I knew I was about to see the biggest fish of my life surface before my eyes, when the worst happened. In a fit of rage the fish jolted and like a sligshot my bait came flying out of the water! I LOST IT!! - Now anyone that can sympathize with me knows the feeling. I wanted to jump in the water and strangle the fish with my bare hands! - While sulking over my biggest loss ever Paul's rod goes for a jolt yet again. This time a decent one! Topping the day off with a 19lb Bluecat and Paul's biggest "so far." The action died down and it was time to call it a day.

My thoughts on day one:

The good: We caught a lot of fish, and some decent sized ones.

The Bad: Zach and I almost went for a swim, and I am out a boat (for now)

The Ugly: The moment I knew I lost that huge fish...

My tip to you - when a big fish strikes, be ready, stay calm, and realize you have all the time in the world to get him in the boat -AND- Never leave the dock without a working bilge pump. I surely would have lost out that day without mine.

Stay tuned for days two and three!