HOLY MACKEREL!! Striper! Catfish! Blue Gill! Not sure which one will be on the end of my line first but I garuunnnteeeee there’s gonna be some fishing going on around these here waters! Yeppers, dear ol’ dad bought a 25’ pontoon. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, look out little fishes here I come and I’ll be singing…On the pontooooon…as I cast. (On second thought, it’d probably scare the fish away.)
Yet, little do most people know but I’ve always said I wanted to be the next Roland Martin and fish for a living. I know, different for a girl, but I love fishing. Always have. Growing up with two brothers and a father who loved fishing, being a tomboy just came naturally to me as a kid. Dickens, could I tell you some stories, too. Like when I helped my dad in the garden collecting worms while he tilled. Since I was the only one who helped he took me fishing on Lake Buhlow in Louisiana. What fun! Except I kept casting in the same spot and a dang fish kept stealing the bait. Yeppers, worm on…cast…worm off. Dag blasted, I bet I fed that fish for nearly an hour before I hooked it; turned out to be a catfish about THIS BIG! Dad let me take it home to show Mom. On the way I was intrigued by all its teeny teeth so I thought I’d see what they felt like. Took me five minutes to get my finger tip out of its mouth! (Never did that again, and by the way…shhh, Dad still doesn’t know.)
Then when I was ten we moved to Alaska and went salmon fishing for the first time. Realize, up till that point I’d caught fish not longer than my forearm. However, we were about to ‘snag’ fish up to three feet long. In my ten year old mind that was the equivalent of a whale! The trick, my father explained, was to throw the line upstream then keep jerking and reeling in a little line as the hook floated down stream. Sounded simple enough as I donned hip waders, my dad’s hand-me-down fishing hat and stood ankle deep near the rocky bank, sun at my back, slight breeze blowing and gurgling sounds of the fast moving river in my ears, my adrenaline on standby as the anticipation of catching a massive fish left me nervous and excited at the same time.
Bobbi & brothers fishin’ around!
Suddenly, it happened. I hooked a big one! In angler language…I totally freaked out. Convinced it truly was too enormous to reel in I performed an emergency evacuation procedure. Holding my pole high over my head I turned about face and rushed up the bank dragging that salmon out of the water and over the rocks as I went. I thought it was brilliant! Dad was not amused. What can I say, it was my first time.
Only slightly ‘larger than a breadbox,’ experienced after my embarrassing salmon incident, when we went deep sea fishing for Sea Bass I actually managed to keep my wits on the boat. Looking back I believe my father may have planned a more ‘contained area’ fishing trip. Shrewd, however, what he didn’t plan on was we’d (my brothers and I) never used a Lujon. (Weighted lure about 5” long with treble hooks.)
Traveling out into the bay on the chartered boat we passed massive rocks jutting out of the ocean covered in seals. I have to admit Alaska was breathtaking. While dad took pictures and my younger brother felt nauseous the Captain announced the fish finder found fish. Hooray! We anchored in a flurry of excitement as everyone got their lines in the water. The trick was to drop the Lujon off the side of the boat sloooowly.
My calm demeanor failed me as I dropped my baited hook over the side of the boat and turned it loose! Wowzer, that little silver Lujon disappeared into the ocean really, really fast. Then the line in the reel tangled. What can I say, it was my first time. Yet suddenly I caught a huge Black Sea Bass so I reeled it in. Dad offed the fish and tossed it in the waiting garbage bucket (which filled up fast) then instructed me to let the line out slowly until I got to the snag. Only I caught another fish…and another. This went on several more times, amazingly without bait on my line. Obviously, we’d run into a school. It was incredible. Someone also caught a squid. I caught an ugly looking spiny fish with a crab in its mouth and my older brother caught two Link Cod. A fishing trip I’ll never forget!
More recently, about six years ago a friend took me fishing to Baden Lake with his dad. I caught the first, the biggest and the most fish. I was never asked to go again…bummer. What can I say, it wasn’t my first time!
Can you imagine…a sunny day, a warm breeze, and a fishing pole? Smile, it’s a big one!
