The other day I was returning from a ride when I saw a man cleaning a large trout at the boat ramp near the campground, so I stopped to have a look. He & another guy had caught a cooler full of trout & were cleaning them. I'd never seen so many trout! I guess there were 20 or 25, all nice size. The older guy offered me a fish & I accepted one uncleaned. He said they had fished all night.
"What didja catch 'em on?" I asked.
"Wigglers", he replied.
"Where did you get wigglers? I haven't seen bait for sale anywhere."
"Along side of the road", he said.
That sounded a little weird, but I let it go & thanked them for the fish.
The next morning I saw them on the side of the road, moving leaves & picking something up. Hmm. Maybe he wasn't pulling my leg after all.
Later on I went to where I had seen them searching & tried my luck. At first I saw nothing but centipedes & a few other critters. Then I spotted one-a full grown night crawler as big around as my pinky! I grabbed him up & the hunt was on.
The hard gravel kept them from hiding in deep holes like they usually do. They were easy to catch & I quickly had a dozen or more. I remembered an article in Wildlife in NC about the fun of catching your bait, and how that used to be part of fishing. I remember digging worms, collecting crickets & grasshoppers & even burning wasp nests to get their larva. I also remembered a little Cherokee boy showing me how to find stick bait, a larvae that uses rocks & sticks to make a cocoon.
The river banks are steep & rocky, but I finally found a rock to stand on & caught a nice fish on the second cast using a wiggler. He jumped twice before I landed him. I was so confident of catching a bunch that I let him go in hopes of catching a bigger one. As it turns out, that was the only one I caught that day.
Been watching a slew of movies lately - The Green Mile, Risky Business, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, and finally mine & LaVerne's wedding video. Of course I shed a few tears, but I also had some good smiles & laughs. What a fun time we had that day! Reverend Susan was on her game for sure, and the Ballad of Fred by Jill & Alan Goldman was a hoot, again! Even with all the heartbreak, I would do it all again. I regret losing touch with Rev. Susan, as I believe she could have helped me & LaVerne even more than she already did. Loving L was wonderful, as was being loved by her. As I said when I put her ashes in the ocean, bon voyage, baby!
"What didja catch 'em on?" I asked.
"Wigglers", he replied.
"Where did you get wigglers? I haven't seen bait for sale anywhere."
"Along side of the road", he said.
That sounded a little weird, but I let it go & thanked them for the fish.
The next morning I saw them on the side of the road, moving leaves & picking something up. Hmm. Maybe he wasn't pulling my leg after all.
Later on I went to where I had seen them searching & tried my luck. At first I saw nothing but centipedes & a few other critters. Then I spotted one-a full grown night crawler as big around as my pinky! I grabbed him up & the hunt was on.
The hard gravel kept them from hiding in deep holes like they usually do. They were easy to catch & I quickly had a dozen or more. I remembered an article in Wildlife in NC about the fun of catching your bait, and how that used to be part of fishing. I remember digging worms, collecting crickets & grasshoppers & even burning wasp nests to get their larva. I also remembered a little Cherokee boy showing me how to find stick bait, a larvae that uses rocks & sticks to make a cocoon.
The river banks are steep & rocky, but I finally found a rock to stand on & caught a nice fish on the second cast using a wiggler. He jumped twice before I landed him. I was so confident of catching a bunch that I let him go in hopes of catching a bigger one. As it turns out, that was the only one I caught that day.
Been watching a slew of movies lately - The Green Mile, Risky Business, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, and finally mine & LaVerne's wedding video. Of course I shed a few tears, but I also had some good smiles & laughs. What a fun time we had that day! Reverend Susan was on her game for sure, and the Ballad of Fred by Jill & Alan Goldman was a hoot, again! Even with all the heartbreak, I would do it all again. I regret losing touch with Rev. Susan, as I believe she could have helped me & LaVerne even more than she already did. Loving L was wonderful, as was being loved by her. As I said when I put her ashes in the ocean, bon voyage, baby!
Pretty sad to see all those dead fish. Hard to believe that there are still people in this day and age that will kill so many at once. Sorry you didn't get a couple for dinner, though.
ReplyDeleteIt was a shock to see them. I did get one for dinner. The pic shows about a third of all they had. That was shocking!
ReplyDelete