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I grew up in the middle Atlantic region, western Maryland
to be exact. And that after a brief stint in upstate New York.
I had an opinion on a lot of things back then and this certainly
included the bluegill. After all, the blue gill was just a nuisance
fish. They were small, scrawny and could be caught on a bare
hooks…or so THEY said (whoever they is). What kind
of person would lower himself to fish for this over-populated
species that would hit a mere bare hunk of wire? Especially
when there were bass, trout, and REAL fish to be caught. Even
spent many days along the Potomac river catching "suckers"
and thinking about Washington crossing the same river a
hundred miles or so downstream. I even got into a rock-throwing
contest along the same river with a friend. Uh, don't ever get into
a rock-throwing contest with a baseball pitcher, but that is another
story.
I forward to my years spent in Optometry school. I decided to
go fishing one day in my new surroundings. I'd heard the South
was big bass country and I wanted a piece of the action. I went
to a nearby lake and asked the guy at 'the bait shop' what was
hitting. He said the 'brim were hittin' mighty good'. Whatever a
'brim' is. I scoffed at the idea of a 'brim' and asked about a real
fish, the almighty largemouth bass. "Well, they ain't hittin' too good
right now," was the reply.
Bass not hitting? This is the South for God's sake. This is what I
came here for and I was gonna fish for 'em! I think I landed two
whole bass that long, hot day and both of them might have added
up to 3 lbs.
Brim.
"What the heck is this brim," I thought to myself when I returned
back to my palatial bachelor apartment. I decided to get a fishing
guide out and see what this brim thing was. Searching out the index.
I went to the Bs…B- R- I -M. Hmm. no such thing as a B R I M.
But they listed a BREAM. Hmm, "Breem," I said aloud. "Breem."
Is that this Brim thing and why didn't he call it a "Breem" if it's spelled
B- R -E- A- M. "Well this IS the South and THEY mispronounce
everything," I thought in my best Yankee attitude. That must be it.
I turned to the page the Bream was to be on and all I saw was a
picture of a Bluegill. "Hmmm, this index must be mislabeled." I'd
have searched the internet for more information but good ole Al
hadn't invented it yet. I went to a sporting goods store I knew had
a good fishing department and saw a poster of fish. I swallowed my
pride and asked the guy to show me a picture of a, uh, um… 'Brim'.
He pointed to the bluegill.
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Realization
hit. This Brim thing is nothing more than a stupid bluegill and what is
worse I wasted time driving down here just to learn this! Boy was
I disappointed.
I forward quite a few many more years. About 20 years to
be exact. I now live in the South with my Southern wife and
my now-Southern girls. I have become a Southerner and even
learned some of the Southern graces. Fortunately I have lost
most of my 'Yankeeness' (no offense, really…well maybe
just a little). I learned a lot about life living down here. Number
one, Southerners ain't nuthin' like I was (mis)led to believe. Oh,
and number two?
Uh, bluegill, I mean BRIM down here ain't nuthin' like no bluegill
I thought I knew either:
I now "lower myself" to fish for bluegill all the time.
Yup lost a lot of pre-conceived notions by living down here.
Thank God. ~ Dr. Bill Malec ( Big Bad Wulff)
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