Fish on Friday

No, I'm not Catholic, but my husband and his family are, so we observe the fish on Friday rule during Lent.  It's probably good for us anyway as long as it's not LJS. 

But, sitting there tonight eating fish got me in the mood to GO fishing.  I'd been plenty of times when I was a kid and my uncle had a trout pond up in the mountains.  I used to go deep sea fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.  Somehow, I forgot how much fun it was until my friend Tracee came to stay with us this summer.  She reintroduced me to the joy of fishing.

This is Tracee.  She catches fish.  Sometimes turtles.

We went fishing several times a week, since it was so hot this summer and this was just about the only way to get cool.  At first, it was only her joy.  I went out and got a brand spanking new tacklebox.  I got all the fancy baits, hooks, lures, and whatnots.  My truck was permanently stuffed with our fishing gear.  Even the kids were excited when they got put on nightcrawler duty and sometimes fought over who would get to bring Tracee or me a worm.  (Ask me sometime what a worm threader is!)  Heck, even the KIDS caught fish when I let them use their poles.

I caught everything BUT fish.  Rocks, branches, even a fishing net once (I figured I was getting better by then).  I did manage to catch SOME seafood eventually:

It took a fancy schmancy lure, but look at all those zebra mussels. 

This is the THIRD rock I caught that day and man did it put up a fight (when it caught on that underwater log).

Finally I moved up to "the big time" and caught a bluegill.  They're pretty small.  Still, it was a FISH.  An honest to God FISH.  Several fruitless trips passed, but then I could hardly believe my luck when I finally caught a CARP.  Yeah, I know.  Most people think of them as CRAP.  But hey, it had fins and scales, and definitely wasn't a rock.  I felt that I was moving up in the world.

Carpe Carp.

Then one day, I thought I really had it made.  I managed to catch a CATFISH.  It was big enough to KEEP!  I about fell over in surprise.

Ain't it purty?

So this year, I think I'll find every shred of warm clothing I have and try for some walleye in spring.  I'd never had it until Scott's folks introduced me to it, and it's become an obsession.  So look for me out at the reservoir quite a bit this summer.  I usually bring the kids, which usually wrecks my fishing but oh well, I COULD be catching rocks!  If you talk to me real nice, I'll even show you my catfish spot.  If you bring the beer, I'll even let you use my stink bait.  See you there!