... Stephen Wright
This year was going to be different - this year, I was going to catch a fish. I've had a fishing setup since 1996 and had not had a bite. So, I first decided that I need some fishin' information (i.e. how to, type of gear, type of bait, size of Rabbit's Foot, etc.). To this end, I purchased (and studied) "Fishing for Dummies" by Peter Kaminsky.
Now, without a doubt, this is the greatest piece of literature since "Golf for Dummies" - it's chalk full of great advice, hints, etc. In fact, if "Golf for Dummies" does for me what "Fishing for Dummies" did, I expect to be on the tour next year! I especially liked the advice about remaining calm when you hook a fish:
Anyway, I read it through and discovered that one of my problems might be that I have to spend a few bucks on some real lures (apparently, those 50 cent "Walleye Killers" are not that successful). So, on the recommendation of Mr. Kaminsky, I acquired a Repala Minnow and took the kids down to the creek to test some of the books' theories. Two casts into the stream and Boom! ... I hit a small Sun Fish (Now, this thing was the almost the same size as the lure; what was this fish thinking of!). A few casts later, I hit a small mouth Bass (just a little one, but still lots of fun to land). I am now starting to think that there really was something to the Dummies book.
So, one fine Saturday morning, I decided to head out in the canoe with my fishing gear - the sun was shining, the lake was calm; just a beautiful morning. I had been paddling around for about 1.5 hours when I decided to try some fishing. I looked under the boat and could see a rather large Bass lurking around - for fun, I thought that I'd throw my Repala near him to see what he'd do. Well, it made a strike run at the lure, which, of course made me panic (I forgot about the "emergency" rule above). I decided to play in the other direction because, frankly, the idea of actually "catching" a fish scarred the be-jesus out of me.
So, I flipped my lure in the other direction ... and POW! ... I have a Bass on my line. Well, now I can barely speak; my heart is pounding so hard that a I fully expect to have a coronary right there! Anyway, I continue to play this fish - he dives down, then under the canoe, then back away from the boat. At one point, it jumps and gives me the whole "wave" thing! Then, I get him right up to the side of the canoe ... and the bugger spits out the lure.
"Well, that's OK", I tell myself. "Now I don't have to deal with landing the fish ...".
Now, I can still see the mouth in my minds eye - "Moby Bass" (aka "MB" or the "Great White Fish") comes out of nowhere and strikes at my Repala, and the chase is on AGAIN! MB dives under the canoe, back out into the channel, back down under the boat ...
With the drag on my reel screaming and me reeling like a Banshee (I'm heavily in to panic mode now, mostly because I'm about to have heart failure!), I think to myself,
"What would my fishing mentor Peter Kaminsky do in this situation?"
"He'd use the net (you idiot)!", I thought, so I grabbed my trusty net and scooped up MB.
"You're Toast!", I said to myself (actually, I probably screamed it out load ... I just don't remember) as I lifted the fish into the boat.
I decided that I was going to keep MB and have it for dinner. So, I paddled back to shore. Now, remember, I can't talk ... I can only mumble some incoherent words like:
I wandered back to our campsite, babbling all the way ... and the following pictures are proof.
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Later that day (with lots of help from my good friend Ed), I filleted MB (see below). The "Great White Fish" was about 2 to 2.5 pounds and we were able to get a fair amount of meat from it.
We had fish for dinner the following night ... and I even enjoyed it! In fact, both Trevor and I had seconds (Becky and Carly were less enthusiastic). The proof is in the photo below!
Well, now I'm totally "hooked" on fishing. Stay tuned for more adventures!