Wow, it’s been a long time since I posted anything. No real excuses other than retirement can be busy – and not always how you thought it was going to be back when you were wishing for it. Sitting here today watching it rain and my two of my grandsons playing and watching TV, somehow my mind started going back to how I used to do things and what occupied a lot of my time. Something that used to occupy my time but doesn’t nearly enough anymore was fishing. I love it and spent a lot of my time enjoying it.
Some of my first memories of fishing was my dad saying, “let’s go to the lake!” I loved those times. Usually that began the night before with the two of us out in the backyard collecting nightcrawlers. I don’t know if I remember him hardly using anything else but night crawlers when he fished. We would go to the lake, through out a night crawler, and wait for the fish to bite. Usually, we would catch a mess of perch – my dad’s favorite and we would have a fish dinner coming soon! We would also go trout fishing in the streams around here when the stock trucks started to run in the spring. Fun Times!
As I grew older and became more mobile (bicycles and my own driver’s license) I started moving out on my own fishing. Bass fishing in the local farm ponds in the area really became my favorite. There is nothing like using a top water lure and watching a bass hit it! The splash of water and the tug on the line can hardly be matched! That’s when night fishing became fun too. I still enjoyed topwater lures and listening to that splash. I still spent a lot of time fishing with dad, but as the lake we first fished became too crowded and rough, we started moving to other small impoundments, usually fishing for trout from the bank. About this time dad also got a small john boat and we started trolling with some exciting catches. He loved doing this as he got older, and while I never got to do this with him, I think dad’s most enjoyable fishing was ocean fishing along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. His eyes would always light up when he was anticipating that trip.
After marriage and girls of my own, the demands of work and spending time with the girls resulted in a lot less fishing time, but I had some fun times fishing with my daughters. One thing changed though, they demanded we fish someplace with a bathroom close when they were younger. I will always remember mornings with them, throwing out lines, helping with catches, and rarely doing any fishing myself but having a ball. I will never forget one of them getting hold of a duck. What a fight and the duck did get off on its own with nothing harmed but its anger. As the girls got older, I got to fish more, but they always caught the bigger fish, or more fish, or whatever. They enjoyed showing up their old dad, and yes, I enjoyed it too!
The girls have moved out, I have retired, and you would think I would have a lot more time to fish. Well, I do, but for some reason that hasn’t happened, and it is completely my own fault. It is something I need to get back into more. I promised myself I would retire early enough that I could still do things and I did after 37 years in public education, but I seem to always find something else to do – mostly work around the house and the woodshop. I need to learn to divide my time a little better and enjoy these things again! I do now have new fishing experiences with my grandkids – both the girls and the boys, and that has brought a whole new enjoyment to an old hobby – maybe the best yet! Once again, I might not get much fishing done, but the look in the eyes of those kids when they catch anything is certainly worth it! I really look forward to the time they will be besting their old pap at fishing – well, that is already happening!
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Slow Down Country Pap 