Caught 2 21” channel catfish in a lake

[NJ219bands]

Went fishing 🎣 in 81.5 degrees Gropp’s Lake this evening for the first time this year on a hot,🥵 humid sunny day with a light south wind. Mosquitoes 🦟 were biting. Saw three other fishermen catch nothing. A topless basser caught a tree 🌳 on his first cast of the day. I threw out canned, whole kernel corn 🌽 for chum, then caught nothing while ultralight jigging. Landed, then released a 21” 2 lb 12 oz channel catfish with corn bait after a nice fight. A 21” 3 lb channel catfish swallowed my homemade corn meal bait on a #8 red treble hook, then attempted to swim away with my rod and Mitchell #300 spinning reel. After another great battle, I released the fish 🐟 with my hook inside of it.