Fishing Trip

Welcome to newcomers and hi to all. I had a great trip and the big one didn't get away. Fished in Alabama, but the small mouth were unusually scarce. I did hook a large mouth, the biggest of the day weighing in at 5 lb 13 oz. It weighed more than I did at birth, ha.

I read Dianne's book in my leisure time and recommend it to everyone. Thank you Dianne for writing it.

Still reading old posts and trying to catch up on the news. It's good to be back with you again.

chickadee

chick, I think it's cool that you fish. Is this something your husband has introduced to you, or vice versa? My daughter loves to fish. She's a great fisherwoman because she's very patient.

Okay Chick, I think this female fishing thing is great, but I know a better way.
See, I wait til some 'guy' really wants me to go fishing with him. If he begs a little, I get into my skimpiest swimming suit and tag along.
When we get to the fishing hole, I let him put those gushy worms on the hook for me and cast for me and rub suntan lotion on me.
Then while he's baiting and casting and reeling and stressing because he's not catching any fish, I just sit on the blanket and read Cosmo while I'm getting a nice tan.
And when the fish bite, I just reel them in. You see, I hate fishing, but I love catching and I always catch more fish than he does. After he has taken the sqirmy fish off the hook and cleaned them real nice, if I'm not too pooped out from all that fishing, I fry the fish and we eat them up.
But if I'm just too pooped out from fishing, we just go out to a nice restaurant for a decent meal.

Yep, that's my idea of fishing.
smile

smile, you make me laugh. I have a feeling you aren't the only woman who fishes like that.

Here's a great fish story for ya.

While vacationing in St. Thomas, Ross took two of the kids fishing. They hit the jackpot and caught 45 mahi-mahi. No lie.

Since my husband paid for the fishing trip, the fish were ours. We picked the prettiest one and told the guy we wanted to have it stuffed and mounted. No problem.

Then he asked what we wanted to do with the rest. We sure couldn't put them in our suitcases and take them home so we said he could have them. He in turn sold the fish to the restaurant at our resort.

That night we went to dinner and the special was fresh maui-maui caught off the coast. We paid an astronomical amount to eat our fish. We tried telling the waiter the kids caught the fish, but he wouldn't believe us.

[ April 06, 2005, 01:34 PM: Message edited by: Dotsie ]

That's funny Dotsie. Once when my ex-husband and I were deep sea fishing with another couple, I caught the most of anyone on the boat and my ex was the only one who caught nothing.

We bought him a cap that read, "Fishermen do it with Longer Poles" then we played cards and when he lost, he had to wear the cap everywhere we went for a week. He was a good sport and had almost as much fun as we did out of it.
smile

You guys are funny. I was cod jigging in the North Atlantic when I was old enought to walk. I don't have time or patience to let someone else look after me because I want to be casting as soon as the motor cuts of. My 5 lb 13 oz largemouth was the biggest catch of the week for us. It weighed 13 oz more than I did at birth, Ha.
Here's a fish story from home and they say it's true.
A man was cod jigging one day when he lost his false teeth overboard. The next day he caught a large cod and when his wife was cleaning it, she found the teeth in the fish's belly.


chickadee

When Eddie and I were first married, about two years we went up to Minnesota fishing for Bass and Walleyes. There were five if us in the boat, Eddie, me, and our friends George and his wife and the Indian guide. It was drizzling and we were sitting under plastic fishing when George caught something big, It was a 44 inch Northern that had a mouth full of huge teeth, The guide shot it in the head before they were aboe to pull it into the boat. They did and it began thrashing about, still alive like an alligator, and Ed and George both nearly jumped out of the boat. I imagine the entire lake could hear us all screaming and laughing hyserically....George won a prize for his catch and he ended having it mounted....The good old days!

Are walleyes and flounder the same fish?

ahhh...no. They aren't.

A flounder is a flat fish with eyes on the top of its head, Dotsie. I have caught many as a child.

http://www.myfishingpictures.com/showphoto.php?photo=4848&sort=7&thecat=555&password=

http://www.striperonline.com/pictures/reports_2003/flounder_10_18_03.jpg

and a walleye is well ...not. I have yet to fish for one.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dwalleye%2Bpic%26ei%3DUTF-8&h=789&w=599&imgcurl=www.wdaweb.com%2Fwalleye4.jpg&img url=www.wdaweb.com%2Fwalleye4.jpg&size=56.4kB&name=walleye4.jpg&rcurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wdaweb.com%2Fwalleye4.htm&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wdaweb.com%2Fwalleye4.htm&p=walleye&type=jpeg &no=4&tt=89%2C588&fr=slv1-bkt1

Walleye are usually very large fish sort of like a salmon shape and the best eating fish on the planet, they taste so fresh and the meat is usually very firm because they like deep cold water. I cild live on them if I could be somewhere to fish for them...alas not many fish in the desert.

Cool pictures, Chick (you must notta lived in OK as a child, right?) Isn't the Internet amazing? I couldn't have described a walleye accurately to save my hide. ....ah, they look like....fish...did you know that flounder are born with their eyes in the 'regular' place and they move to the top of their head as they mature? ...humor me, I'm a biologist....i've got all kinds of useless trivia stuffed inside...

A biologist? How cool is that! Tell us more. I grew up in Canada but have been in the USA for a couple of years. I guess if I lived on the ocean bottom, my eyes would end up on the top of my head too. Is there a difference between a flatfish and a flounder Ms. Biologist?

chickadee

Great fish tales. Here's one you might like -- excerpt from my book, "Ribbons of Highway: A Mother-Child Journey Across America." Smilinize's "Cosmo" and gushy worms post reminded me of some stunningly sexy but oh-so-serious Idaho flyfishermen:


In the Conant Valley nearer Wyoming, things turned lush and alive. For single ladies, there may be no better place in the US to see beautiful men than Swan Valley, Idaho, on the South Fork of the Snake River. The Snake here is liquid art. Broad and bending, light sage green, it rushes with small white water, and drifts in silvery ripples. Fingers of treed islands and peninsulas cut and divide it, and wader-clad flyfishermen cast their arcing lines into its flow, lit by a movie set sun.

Swan Valley’s population is 260, and it seemed to me a good percentage of that number are fit, gorgeous men, many young, many blond, all quite stupendous. Sit a spell in South Fork Outfitters (where fish-shaped bottles hold the bathroom soap, and a poster above the sink reads, “For Those Who Appreciate the Finer Things in Life, Like Hands That Smell of Fish”). Pick yourself out a fetching pair of hipwaders. But, before you cast your line, for fish or man, you’d better know your way around a driftboat and how to tie a damn good fly, because these boys aren’t about looking pretty. They’re about serious flyfishing. Looky-loos and dilettantes might earn five polite minutes of their time.


On another note, Dotsie's invited me to be on hand during the month of May as a travel forum guest "expert," and I'm looking forward to popping onto the forum each day to answer as many travel-related questions as I can. I publish a world travel blog at http://RibbonsofHighway.blogspot.com. Check it out. Maybe it'll fuel some ideas for travel topics we can talk about in May!

Chickadee, I have to ask, you wouldn't be from "The Rock", would you? My Mom was born and raised there (summers in Brigus and winters in St John's). Her uncle was a famous (well, famous in those parts) explorer, and her brother was an avid cod (and squid) jigger.

I've jigged for halibut near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia...it was one of the most fun things I've ever done! Must be the Newfie blood in me.

The "flatfish" gave it away, right? Yes Eagle, I am "Rock" born and bred. I left when I was eighteen and returned a few years later to be closer to my Mom. When she passed away, I left again.
No matter where I live, I'l always manage to find a fishing hole. Did you know it is illegal to jig a cod there, now! Amazing! Who's the famous uncle /explorer btw?

Lori,that is a nice exerpt from your book. Seems I could have "hooked" a good man in Swan valley. A dilettante I'm not...I can keep up and "tie one on", Ha! with the best of'em.

chickadee

Actually, Chickadee, it was the "jigging" that gave it away. I don't know about you, but for Mom, the Rock was always Home. Even after living "away" for 40-50 years, it didn't matter...her heart always belonged to her beloved Newfoundland. As a matter of fact, we still have her ashes and plan to eventually build her a beautiful stone cairn with a little window overlooking Brigus harbour.

Her famous uncle was Capt Bob Bartlett, who was the captain of Peary's ship when he discovered the North Pole; according to family legend, and a few history books, it was Capt Bob who saved Peary's life so that he was able to make it back to tell the story...although, as I understand it, whether or not it was Peary who discovered the Pole is now in contention.

Anyway, that's always been our one slim claim to fame.

If I didn't already have the sweetest man on earth "hooked" on me, I'd be tempted by that Swan Valley story...except that I hate worms and couldn't tie one on a hook if my life depended on it. Guess I'll stick with the one I've already got!

Eagle...Capt.Bob Bartlett, how exciting. As chair of the Heritage Corporation for a few years Iknow how he is an important part our past. Have you read the book, The Amazing Adventures of Captain Bob Bartlett by Susan Chalker Browne?

I miss home, visit often and will always be a "newfie". From my childhood home I could see the ocean, beach, meadow, grove, hills, pond and stream. It was paradise!
Now I'm homesick.

I too have the sweetest man on earth...I "hooked" him a few years ago. The only one I didn't catch and release

[ April 15, 2005, 02:09 PM: Message edited by: chickadee ]