Mudcat by Russell Evatt

Mudcat

After they had cleaned the three fish they caught, hanging them by a piece of rope through their gills and ripping the skin away with a pair of pliers, the boy washed them with a water hose. Just before they left the creek the fish had started biting. Caught three in a twenty minute window. Mudcat. Deep yellow speckled tint along their bellies. Some people said there wasn’t no use in even throwing them back if you caught one. Terrible to eat, tasted like dirt water. Best to just throw them on the bank and let the birds and coons have them. But granddad never threw anything back and if grandma wouldn’t let him cook mudcat in the house on account of the smell, well then he’d build a fire and cook them outside.

– Russell Evatt

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