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I had sweet talked the wife into letting me out of my
normal morning duties in order to go fishing before
heading to work, but I forgot to clear it with someone
as would become obvious, again. I pulled into the parking
lot and noticed 1 bobber fisher already working the
shoreline I wanted to try. No big deal there is plenty
of room, it's just that I hate casting where someone
may see me. I don't know how to convince them that I
am actually trying to fly fish, they never believe me
after they see me try. Anyway I rig up, correctly the
first time, unlike other trips (hey I'm slow but I learn),
and walk down to the bank. I make a few false casts and
then a presentation, not pretty but it's on the water.
After a couple of minutes I notice some activity in the
water over by a viewing platform, which is a concrete
slab that extends about 15 feet into the lake. Before I
can work my way over I feel a buzzing on my hip, and
wonder why I grabbed my cell phone. The only people who
would call me this early would be the family so I answer it.
"Hello", hopefully they don't notice the annoyance in my voice.
"Daddy, do we have any memory sticks at home?" It is my 13
year old daughter.
"What happed to the one you had last night?" This question
was answered as I reached into my pants pocket and counted
all three memory sticks. Why did she pick last night to
actually put something back where she got it? We finished
our conversation and she hung up.
I went back to watching the fish by the platform. As I was
watching I noticed a few flashes and small splashes, hey
those look white. "Crappie?" I ask myself. "Probably not,
you're not that lucky" I answer. (Yea I talk to myself,
even argue once in a while). But I decide to work my way
over to the platform and try for them. I position myself
a few feet away from the base of the platform so I can make
casts at an angle in relation to the shore creating a triangle
whose sides are composed of the platform, the shore line and
my line. This was necessary because of a walking path that
goes around the lake and comes close to shore in several
areas, including the platform, and was in use already this
morning.
I didn't think the bikers and hikers would like dodging my
back casts. I take a couple of relaxing breaths, false cast
a couple of times and proceed to overpower the presentation,
my normal routine. Bring in some slack, false cast, present,
hey it worked. After several casts and a couple of missed
strikes, I get that buzz in my hip again. This time it's
the wife, time to head home to take a memory stick to the
daughter. I decide to make a few more quick casts, boy was
that a mistake, I got into a hurry and got real sloppy with
the stroke and I made a huge mess of my leader.
Then I saw something that made the trip worth it, or maybe
it makes me mad about the trip, I can't decide. As I finished
reeling in the line I saw a 16-18 inch bass do a nice impression
of a Humpback whale. He came straight up completely out of the
water, rotated in mid air, showing me his back, stretched out
parallel to the waters surface and splashed down hard onto the
waters surface. A beautiful sight. So what do I have to be mad
about? He was well within MY casting range, MY VERY LIMITED
casting range, and I'm standing there with a very messed up
leader, that's what has me upset. Oh well, just another fishing
memory, now if I could only catch some fish to remember.
PS. Yes, my daughter was very grateful I returned home to
deliver the memory stick for her to use. I got several hugs
and kisses, from both the daughter and the wife. So the time
lost fishing is not really lost.
PPS. I must be an Other Day fisherman. Rick Z has many days
when he can't keep fish off his hook, and he has other days
when he struggles to find what they want. It appears that
every day I get to go fishing is one of those other days.
~ swen
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