You're thinking, I know, if only I had a boat I'd catch a lot of fish. On the lake. And I don't blame you, it makes sense. With that in mind I climbed aboard a friend's boat, rod in hand and ready for action.
We zoomed across Lake Whitney to Steele Creek, then trolled upstream just after first light, with mist rising off the water. There weren't any banjos, but there should've been. There was, however, a great chorus of turkeys from along the banks. But not a lot of fish.
In fact, we caught one, a medium size Sand Bass. Undaunted, we fished several coves, channels and creeks, but nothing. Not a bite, and we weren't the only ones, no one seemed to be catching anything on the lake that morning.
The next day, my boat pal's 8 year old Grandson caught 7 Stripers in one of the coves we fished, using exactly the same lure, a silver shad of some sort, that'd been so unsuccessful the day before. There's a moral in that, somewhere.
In other news, I saw a wild turkey strutting through the streets of downtown Whitney this morning. It was a hen.
Fish on,
LSP
That's a beautiful lake, LSP. It's not about how many fish you catch, it's about the clam and peace - oh never mind. It is about the fish.
ReplyDeleteEmerson said that men go fishing all of their lives without once considering that it's not fish that they're after.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe it was Thoreau?
ReplyDeleteThe rhythm of time on the water is solace for the soul, doesn't matter if you catch any thing.
ReplyDeleteWe often have turkeys walking the sidewalk by the house, some with feathers, some without.
A word on boats, Reverend: it you think it would be nice to go out and get your own boat, think real hard on that one. As a passenger and guest of the owner of the boat, it seems great.
ReplyDeleteBut you are only seeing the good part, and that's about 10% of the boat owning experience. You know, the great scenery as the boat roars along on plane, skipping over the water, warm wind in your face, all of that.
But what you didn't see was the initial purchase price of the boat and trailer (mid five figures for a relatively new/reliable unit), storage costs, maintenance costs, insurance costs. Then getting the boat ready for the trip, stocked up, gassed up, batteries charged, live wells (if so equipped) set up, and on and on. Then you climb aboard for your 10%, and then you get off at the dock. The owner then backs his big rig up (you have to have a larger than average vehicle to tow these units, Rev) with the trailer, puts the boat on the trailer, pulls it out, buttons it up for the trip back, and then the cleaning of the boat once you return, it never ends.
Boat ownership is a serious commitment, much more than owning a high-maintenance dog, parrot or ferret: it's like getting married. Serious work involved, trust me on this one, Pastor...
Maybe next time I'll get lucky, Adrienne!
ReplyDeleteI think it's Thoreau, LL. And I like fishing a lot, though it's better when the Bass are striking...
ReplyDeleteI'd never seen a turkey in town before, Brighid. Chickens? Yes, but not turkeys. It was neat to see, and trolling up the creeks was definitely calming.
ReplyDeleteGood advice, Fredd. And I don't have the money for the kind of boat I was on the other day, so I'm probably safe on all that. I think the solution is to know people with boats... mind you, a Jon Boat might be feasible.
ReplyDeleteAs a former admiral (owning one boat on the ocean in a slip and another on a trailer for lakes and fresh water at the same time), I can echo what Fredd says. HOWEVER, I did have a lot of fun that came along with the boats (when you're getting it fixed "BOAT" stands for "bring over another thousand".) Conventional wisdom holds that if it flies, floats or f--'s, your better off leasing and not buying. Fredd is too much of a gentleman to say that, but naturally, I'm not because I am both honorary vicar general and Horse Sergeant Major of the Dallas Light Cavalry (Irregular).
ReplyDeleteThese are all serious ranks -- Adm., VG, HSM and I feel that I'd be foolish to ignore the advice. But maybe you'd like to invest in a handy rivercraft when you get a place on the mighty Brazos?
ReplyDeleteLL: didn't know you could lease a boat, but even then I bet the payments are beastly. I, too, had two boats simultaneously: a 33' Carver Mariner maintained in a slip on the Great Lakes and in the Potomac later on, and an 18' Sidewinder jet boat (James Bond type unit) on a trailer for fresh water jaunts. The smaller boat had a 455 Olds V8 engine, when it wasn't broken, I loved it. Which was 10% of the time. The larger boat had two 351 Ford Windsor V8's, ditto that 10% ratio of love/hate.
ReplyDeleteI think, Fredd, that that makes you an Admiral, along with LL.
ReplyDeleteI sure didn't feel like an admiral, Reverend, what with all the time spent on my hands and knees scrubbing decks, scraping varnish off of teak, wrenching on cylinder head bolts, and pumping out nasty, filthy bilges. Rather than an admiral, I felt more like an E-1, a seaman recruit.
ReplyDeleteJust take my word for it, becoming a boat owner buys you a special place in a nautical hell. I therefore cannot accept your commission, however well intended the offer was.
I couldn't live on the Brazos without buying a boat, sad to admit. But it would likely be something more modest for fishing and such. Fredd - you can lease a boat! Same as an airplane, the payments are enormous. I bought. And I enjoyed. Then I sold.
ReplyDeleteIt was meant well, Fredd, but I understand your reluctance. Sounds like you had quite a Navy for a while.
ReplyDeleteA modest fishing boat sounds more doable, LL. Maybe I should get a fishing kayak, just for fun.
ReplyDelete