... to pan fry it up!!! The ice went out a few weeks ago. I’ve been casted out poles and leaving them on bottom all day on and off ever since the ice left. Never had one bite or even one worm or waxy stripped off till yesterday. I found a couple worms crawling around in the driveway yesterday afternoon and put both on my hook. At around 7pm I figured it was time to wind up for the night. The line was in a different direction so I knew I had some action. My line was snagged on some brush when I tried to crank up. I kept pulling and winding, figuring I’d eventually get the snag pulled out of the water. After about 20 seconds the line came loose from the snag and I could feel a good sized fish swimming,yanking, and my drag started to rip! After a good couple of minutes it finally came to the surface. I figured this early in the year I probably had a Drum, Northern pike, or carp on. Nope, a decent sized channel cat! I have never caught a cat this early in the year. It had a belly full of shad. They must have been eaten alive because the fillets smelled nice and fresh. I’ll have to see if I can catch a few more today. I ll grab some minnows to try this time around. Cant wait to pan fry this one up! It was big enough that it has a little yellowing on the top of the back...I’ll have to trim it off before frying it up.