People scorn bank fishing. They say, "Look, loser. Where's your Mercury rig Bass Boat?" and I know what they mean. Having a boat should equal catching more fish, as well as planing about on the lake like the King of Texas. But that's not always the case.
Just the other day, on Lake Whitney's spillway, there I was, casting off into the current from the bank while a boat full of guys anchored opposite me and started fishing. Who caught more? I did; 8 Bass to their 0 Bass. Mind you, they drank 8 beers to my 0 beers. So they won that part of the contest.
I reflected on that and the message was clear. You can have a perfectly good fishing experience from the bank. In fact, you might even do better than some clowns goofing off in a boat, and that's the way it was this evening.
No boat, but plenty of fishing action from the shore of Lake Whitney as the sun was setting. Was it beautiful? Yes. Was it exciting? For sure, especially when a decent Bass smashed into my lure. Was it expensive? Not nearly so expensive as a boat, or a night out in Dallas.
Still, I'm looking forward to one of my rich socialist pals redistributing part of their great wealth to me in the form of a Skiff. For that matter, I'd be happy with a canoe, maybe one with a motor.
And, let the record show, I've resolved to learn fly fishing. I've heard that can even be done from the bank.
Carry on,
LSP
THe scorn I reserve, and dish out in the form of looking down my nose and tsk tsk-ing the scornful, is for those dopes in the bass boat.
ReplyDeleteI never really understood the concept of a fully decked out Ranger bass boat, and the really well equipped units are $70,000 and more. You know the ones, with two axle trailers that have about $1,000 worth of fancy schmancy rims, chrome fenders, all manner of built in electric winches, coolers, etc.
And then these owners of these monster boats roar off into the horizon at 80 mph, get to where they are going and then break out their $500 fishing poles, mount their $500 reels on them, and cast into the murky depths. Sure, they might reel in a musky or two up north, maybe some decent striped bass down yonder, but at the end of the day one has to bring home the fish, gut them, scale them and eat them. Unless you live out in the Great Northwest, and bring home trout. No need to scale trout.
And the calculator is not kind to these Ranger bass boat dopes. The cost per pound for those walleye fillets will have one gobsmacked. I would simply wander down to my local fish monger, grab some Icelandic cod and be ahead of the game.
When you crunch the numbers you're looking some pretty expensive fish. Or, in the case of the goon patrol in the boat the other day, no fish at all. But serve them right, it's not too smart to anchor in someone else's fishing spot.
ReplyDeleteStill, one of my pals has not one but TWO skiffs. He's also a Bernie supporter. So how about berning down some privilege and redistributing part of the boat wealth? He's not convinced by this argument...
It all depends on where you're fishing. There are some places where luck favors the fisherman in a boat (trolling). However the boat needn't be a $70K bass boat (of the sort favored by people who feel the Bern). I like fishing Rocky Mountain rivers and that's another style all by itself.
ReplyDeleteKeep up with the fly fishing. It's a more elegant way to catch a fish.
Ah, but here you have to find a bank that hasn't been sold to one of the scornful people so they can have ready access for their boat without paying a launch fee.
ReplyDeleteTook us a couple years to find one that wouldn't turn our ankle on the boulders to stop washout, or send us sliding into the snake infested bayou...
And the sad part is, we found most of them after we bought our boat. *sigh* Not one of the really big fancy boats, because as hubby puts it "Just how fast DO those bass swim?"
We are happy with it, though we still miss the Fish-n-Ski we had in Nebraska; but back then you had to be an officer to get the Air Force to pay to store your stuff when you went overseas.
This boat is a fish and ski type, just not as nice as that one. But it will do, and it gets us out of the house more, whether we catch fish or not.
Have a safe, blessed, Memorial Day Weekend!
Rocky Mountain river fishing sounds very pleasant, LL.
ReplyDeleteWatch out for the snakes, LindaG! And congrats on your boat, that sounds fun.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen any so far this year. I am grateful for that!
ReplyDeleteWould give you Ol Ugly in a heart beat, Dad is getting too unsteady to take out in that sled, and one can get a lot of time on a guided boat for the price of upkeep, etc.
ReplyDeleteYou should try http://www.tenkarausa.com/
I saw a few the other day, Linda, gotta be careful.
ReplyDeleteInteresting link, Brighid. Thanks.
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