As a young fellow and like most young boys, fishing was some thing we all wanted to do. We didn’t know much about fishing, only that it was done in water and that one needed a pole and a hook with some string. Of course one had to have some bait something that the fish would eat. Every boy knew that to be, a worm or a grass hopper.
To find yourself a fishing pole, a small long branch of a tree would do, if you could get your hands on a bamboo pole, that would even be better. People like fathers that like to fish always had a store bought pole and a wind up reel. But no one could afford to buy a pole for their kids.
Mine, was just some string and a hook that was given to me. I was told to put wax on the string, this would make it stronger and it would float on the water. Put some weight on the end of the string would make the hook go deeper. If that was where the fish were. We three friends would always go fishing together. Two of us were ten and the other was eleven. We really never caught any fish that were of good size, but we must not have been fishing in the right spot. When we were ready to go fishing, we all dug some worms and put them in a can so we each had our own.
A neighbor said, I could dig for some worms in his garden spot and I found some large ones. He called them night crawlers. They were so big they wouldn’t fit on our small hooks. My worm was close to being six inches long and larger than the fish we caught and this worm was wild.
When we stopped fishing and got home, we were told to put the worms back in the soft earth and they would be there, to be dug up the next time we went fishing. My worm was so big I didn’t want him to get away, so I tied a string on him and tied the other end of the string to a stake. When I went back to check on him, he had wound himself around that stake and found the other end of himself, And guess what happened, he fell in love with the other end, that’s what my sister said: that they were in love and were going to have babies and that I shouldn’t separate the ends. What little I knew, she was most likely right and she was older that I was.
That next spring. We were going fishing again and I went to find that worm, but he wasn’t there. But there were a bunch of little ones. Still they were almost too large for my small hook.
I went down to a hardware store to price another hook. There were three or four hooks, all the same size in one pack and another pack that had different sizes, But I couldn’t afford to buy either. There was another box that had all kinds of hooks ,all different sizes. But there was no way I could afford that one.
The man at the store said he would make a deal with me. He said he would give me a few hooks if I would give some of the fish I caught, to him. That sounded good to me so we agreed. That was when I got to thinking, did he mean just today or from now on!
On this fishing trip, a father of one of the boys ( Who was a fisherman himself, was going to drive us to a lake, where he liked to fish. Mother said it would be alright, just not to go into the water. At the lake, there was an old dock that went out several feet into the lake, a place where boats were once tied up. There was a rough looking speed boat there, but no one was around. It was tied with a rope at the front and back of the boat. I decided to set on the end of this dock and fish from there.
Later, four or five high school kids came running and a yelling and got in the boat. They started the motor and untied the rope at the front of the boat and took off really fast. The rope that was tied to the back of the boat and a place on the old dock, yanked some boards lose and this cause me to go splashing into the water. The water wasn’t really very deep right there as I could stand up and walk to the bank, but I had lost one of my shoes and all of my worms. But what was the worst part, was, that what fish I caught, I could carry home in my shirt pocket and my shirt didn’t have any pockets. That was when I learned how to tell Fish Stories. A stop at the market and would get fish for you to take home, but not for me.
I would have to go back to the hardware store and tell the man that I didn’t catch anything. And after mother told me not to get in the water, would she understand about the accident and the lost shoe. There is going to be trouble when I get home, This would be a good time to run away, but where too ? There was many places that a small boy can go, guess I had better go home and face the music. At home, I told my mother what had happened and she gave me a hug and helped me find some dry cloths and never said one word about my shoe. That just goes to show, you never know about mothers. They love you when you fear them and they will scold you when you didn’t do anything.
Want to know something, I don’t like to eat fish anyway……………Any one want my hook and string?
By; Ben R.
Oct. 9,2011
To find yourself a fishing pole, a small long branch of a tree would do, if you could get your hands on a bamboo pole, that would even be better. People like fathers that like to fish always had a store bought pole and a wind up reel. But no one could afford to buy a pole for their kids.
Mine, was just some string and a hook that was given to me. I was told to put wax on the string, this would make it stronger and it would float on the water. Put some weight on the end of the string would make the hook go deeper. If that was where the fish were. We three friends would always go fishing together. Two of us were ten and the other was eleven. We really never caught any fish that were of good size, but we must not have been fishing in the right spot. When we were ready to go fishing, we all dug some worms and put them in a can so we each had our own.
A neighbor said, I could dig for some worms in his garden spot and I found some large ones. He called them night crawlers. They were so big they wouldn’t fit on our small hooks. My worm was close to being six inches long and larger than the fish we caught and this worm was wild.
When we stopped fishing and got home, we were told to put the worms back in the soft earth and they would be there, to be dug up the next time we went fishing. My worm was so big I didn’t want him to get away, so I tied a string on him and tied the other end of the string to a stake. When I went back to check on him, he had wound himself around that stake and found the other end of himself, And guess what happened, he fell in love with the other end, that’s what my sister said: that they were in love and were going to have babies and that I shouldn’t separate the ends. What little I knew, she was most likely right and she was older that I was.
That next spring. We were going fishing again and I went to find that worm, but he wasn’t there. But there were a bunch of little ones. Still they were almost too large for my small hook.
I went down to a hardware store to price another hook. There were three or four hooks, all the same size in one pack and another pack that had different sizes, But I couldn’t afford to buy either. There was another box that had all kinds of hooks ,all different sizes. But there was no way I could afford that one.
The man at the store said he would make a deal with me. He said he would give me a few hooks if I would give some of the fish I caught, to him. That sounded good to me so we agreed. That was when I got to thinking, did he mean just today or from now on!
On this fishing trip, a father of one of the boys ( Who was a fisherman himself, was going to drive us to a lake, where he liked to fish. Mother said it would be alright, just not to go into the water. At the lake, there was an old dock that went out several feet into the lake, a place where boats were once tied up. There was a rough looking speed boat there, but no one was around. It was tied with a rope at the front and back of the boat. I decided to set on the end of this dock and fish from there.
Later, four or five high school kids came running and a yelling and got in the boat. They started the motor and untied the rope at the front of the boat and took off really fast. The rope that was tied to the back of the boat and a place on the old dock, yanked some boards lose and this cause me to go splashing into the water. The water wasn’t really very deep right there as I could stand up and walk to the bank, but I had lost one of my shoes and all of my worms. But what was the worst part, was, that what fish I caught, I could carry home in my shirt pocket and my shirt didn’t have any pockets. That was when I learned how to tell Fish Stories. A stop at the market and would get fish for you to take home, but not for me.
I would have to go back to the hardware store and tell the man that I didn’t catch anything. And after mother told me not to get in the water, would she understand about the accident and the lost shoe. There is going to be trouble when I get home, This would be a good time to run away, but where too ? There was many places that a small boy can go, guess I had better go home and face the music. At home, I told my mother what had happened and she gave me a hug and helped me find some dry cloths and never said one word about my shoe. That just goes to show, you never know about mothers. They love you when you fear them and they will scold you when you didn’t do anything.
Want to know something, I don’t like to eat fish anyway……………Any one want my hook and string?
By; Ben R.
Oct. 9,2011
No comments:
Post a Comment