Saturday, March 10, 2012

Wondering about fishing


Fishing is one of my favorite sports.  I like most all kinds of fishing, but prefer the more active types.  I suppose my favorite is sneaking around the shallows close to shore in my canoe during a moonless night casting to the edge of shore with surface plugs trying to entice a huge hog bass to come out of the water and smash my lure.  Wow!!  Talk about excitement.  There is nothing better than that!!  Even when the fishing is slow, the beauty of the night, its sounds and sights are very relaxing and enjoyable on their own.  For some reason, old age I guess or laziness, I have not been fishing in years.  I guess the main reason is I don’t have anyone to go fishing with anymore who likes to fish out of canoes at night.  I guess my love for it was taught to me by my Dad who used to take me night fishing in the upper Allegheny River when I was a boy and we continued to do it when we could after I grew up.  Later, I found a good friend who would go with me at night.  I miss that type of fishing and have not done any of it for many, many years.
Fishing dates back many millenniums.  Fish were a food staple of many ancient people.  But recently, I read a short article that (so far) told of the discovery of the world’s oldest deep-sea fishermen.  Digging in a cave on an island off the north shore of Australia, a researcher found hand made hooks and many fish bones, some of tuna and sharks which were off shore, deep sea fish.  What is surprising to me is the age of these artifacts.  They were determined to be 42,000 years old.  Not only did these ancient people have good sea worthy boats, but since The Bass Pro Shop hadn’t opened yet, they had to make their own hooks, lines, and any other equipment that they needed.  Their fishing success was not just a hobby but a means to stay alive and eat well.
Dang, now I want to go fishing.  Yes, my pond/swamp is pretty full now but it will take years to get the big bass back.  So, for now, you all have a great Saturday and relax and enjoy yourselves, you hear?

6 comments:

  1. Fishing is one of those highly productive food gathering techniques. It's also a lot of fun.

    Back home, I fish from canoes all the time. We used to night fish for "horned pout," a local small catfish. One of the tastiest fish we have up north. Don't know why I haven't done that in a while. Maybe, it's because my fishing buddies moved away. Oh well.

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  2. Like you I used to fish a LOT, don't know why not any more. Lazy? too busy?
    Used to fish some at night around this area, and one thing we'd do was wade ponds and gig frogs at night.. I quit that the night I gigged a "frog's head" That turned out to be a big ole water snake!! :-0 !!

    God don't count the days you spend fishing.....

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  3. Why I remember years ago at the crack of dawn, I had a hook in the water. Ate fresh rainbow trout for breakfast cooked up on a flat iron grill over an open fire. Yeah Boy Howdy, them was the days.
    Can't say there's anything more 'cit'n than hook'n a big ol' fish an' reel'n him in. Heart beats go a hunnert mile a hour, blood pressure sit' right on the edge of a stroke, hands sweat'n reel'n that baby in....yup, ya cain't beat fish'n. Wonder how I gonna feel when that 14 pounder get on my line.

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  4. Remember back when my Dad would call, say, "let's go fishing",,didn't ask where, just went.

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  5. 6bears, I like to fish all different ways and I like to eat them, too, but sometimes I fish just for fun and then I release everything I catch.

    Ben, I guess the main reason I don’t fish much anymore is that I have no one to go with.

    BB, You do have a way of bringing back good memories for me. Like catching cut-throat trout out of the Yellowstone River and having them the next day for breakfast with buckwheat cakes.

    Trouble, I remember those days with my Dad and I know what you mean and really miss them.

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  6. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post.

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