Fishing Through My Muse ©

Today I want to write just to write. No exercise, no guidelines, just free-write.


My husband and I have been prepping our off-shore boat for the upcoming season and the "all-guy" fishing trip. I always help him wherever I can with these projects. Doing all of this work has brought us to talk about fishing.


As a couple, we do most of our fishing in our Jon boat. This is a story of how a day of fishing goes for me.


...


It was a cool September morning. The sun had not yet broke the morning darkness when Carl and I pulled the boat out of the driveway. "I think we're gonna catch 'em today!" I looked at Carl and winked. He raised his nose in the air, "Yep, I smell fish!"

Pulling onto boat ramp road, we saw trucks already lining the parkway. "Ramp's gonna be wet." Carl said as he spun the boat into position to launch. I jumped out of the truck. "You want me to lock the hubs?" Carl nodded.

The sky was just starting to wake up when Carl caught the first Bass. I put the net under it and pulled it in the boat. "Wow! He's a keeper." Carl strung and tied the squirming fish to the boat. "Now it's your turn."

I cast my lure into the water and we trolled up river. Zzzzzzzzzzz! Carl's line went off again. "Feels like a big one!" Carl tightened the drag and cranked the reel. "Wow! He's a fighter!" Carl's rod bent and wriggled as the fish fought its way to the boat. I slipped the net under him. "This one's bigger than the first!"

We started trolling. There was enough light in the sky to see steam rising off the water. I started to sing, "Smoke on the wa-ter." Carl tapped my shoulder, "You're gonna scare the fish." I smirked at him and took a sip of my Irish coffee.

"Okay, it's your turn!" I placed my rod in the holder and pulled out my camera. "I think the only thing I'll be catching today is..." Zzzzzzzzzzzz! "...A buzz!" Carl tightened his drag and cranked the reel.

"Carl, I want to trade rods." I passed him my rod. We started trolling up river. I cast my lure off the stern and placed the rod in the holder.

The sun crept up in the sky. Shadowy images of trees lit on the surface of the water. Who cares about catching stinky old fish? I thought as I captured the moment on film.

Zzzzzzzzzzz! "Again?" Carl cranked his reel. "You realize that's my rod, so technically, it's my fish!" Carl laughed, "It may be your rod, but the fish is mine! It's another big one--Come on, you sucker!"

We continued up river the rest of the morning. When we hit the gravel bar it was almost lunch time. Other boaters were parked on the banks. They waved and flashed fingers to indicate their catch and the sizes of them.


We found a quiet spot up the bar and banked near a tree. I pulled boat up on the rocks and tied it so the current would not carry it off. Taking a long deep breath, I bent and stretched. "This is a pretty place."

Carl put his lure in the water. "Gonna fish?" I looked around and nodded, "In a minute, I gotta go first." Carl smiled, "Women!"

We sat on the bank for an hour and did not catch one fish. I thought we should start trolling back down river. But I did not say anything about it. I popped open a beer. After all, I had to catch something even if it was just a buzz.