BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Derrick “Rick” Jones can’t remember a time when he didn’t love catfish — the moist, tender flesh when it’s cooked right, the mild, slightly sweet flavor and the crunch of a proper cornmeal crust when it’s fried.
Such sensations have given Jones, a Costco employee and part-time real estate agent, little tastes of heaven for most of his 33 years. But it wasn’t until about four years ago that he realized he could catch the whiskered creatures himself — allowing him not just to savor them but also to share them, along with a generous helping of protein, with others.
Jones, now a fanatical fisherman, reels in two dozen or more of the bottom-dwelling beauties on a good outing — and delivers at least half to area food pantries, where organizers say the unusual donations have become some of their most sought-after offerings…