Fishing Season

Hi Folks!

Well fishing season is upon us. It's time to go into the attic and the shed and dig out all the gear and stuff that's just been sittin around all year just waitin for somebody to come and find it. I don't know about you but I have a tendency to put stuff away in a "safe place" so I'll be sure to be able to get to it the next time I need it. Only trouble is, I've usually forgotten what that "safe place" was by the time I'm ready to take it out again. I've lost a lot of good stuff that way over the years. You wouldn't think that something could disappear so completely inside the space of a house or a barn but just as soon as I put it away I've pretty much got to start thinkin about buying new stuff 'cause I'm just never gonna ever find it again.

Take for example my old roller blades. I got them one year when I was dead set on gettin more exercise. Them roller blades seemed easy enough. Just strap 'em on and go on down the closest road or parking lot and presto... exercise. Well I sure enough tried them out... fell all over myself for awhile until I started to get the hang of it… eventually got pretty good at it. Trouble was I bought 'em towards the end of September. Only got to use them for a couple of months before the weather changed and it was time for me to put them away. Well, I put 'em in a box and stashed them away someplace where I was sure to find them again in the Spring when I could start up again. Boy oh boy I was lookin forward to gettin out there and impressing all the girls... I mean getting some exercise once the weather warmed up enough to strap 'em back on.

Come Spring, roller blades didn't seem quite that important anymore. I'd gotten a treadmill and a stationary bike to keep me fit during the Winter and well... gettin those roller blades out and findin a good spot to use them on just didn't quite seem worth the effort anymore. Oh I tried to find them. Looked all over the house for a day or so. Even searched my favorite hidin spot in the barn... you know the one I use when I don't want anyone to find something... but nooooo... them roller blades had vanished... they'd gone to wherever stuff goes when you puts it away in that "safe place". Never did find 'em... must still be someplace around... might try again someday when it's all dark and rainy and I've got nothin better to do. But for now... they'll just have to stay in whatever "safe place" I put 'em in.

It's the same thing with my fishin gear. I put it away last year with full knowledge that at least some of it would never be found again. Sure enough... this year I went out to the shed where I thought I'd put all of it only to find out that half of it must be someplace else. At least it wasn't where I thought I'd put it. Oh the most important stuff was there, rod and reel, creel... although that was the worse for wear, and my hip waders. The rest though... it was scattered all over the place. Found some flies and lures in the den, found an extra spool of fishing line in the wash room... though how it got there I'll never know. Never did find my fishin vest... or my hat... and those canvas-cloth pants I wear with the waders... well I found half of them out by the Nauga pen. Probably hung 'em up to dry last Fall and just forgot to bring 'em in. Bet they were snagged by a Nauga that got loose and wandered by lookin for an after dinner snack.

Guess I'm just gonna have to head on in to Biggsbee this afternoon to pick up a few things. Best place to start will be the old Army-Navy surplus store on High Street. Got it's name, the street that is, 'cause it was the only street that didn't flood after a good hard rain when the town still had dirt roads and folks were just gettin used to the horseless carriage. Rest of it was pretty much just a pile of mud and horse… well you know. Folks would go on up to High Street to get out of the muck and get across to the other side of town. Became a great place to open up a business… lots of foot traffic don’t you know… and there used to be a Woolworth’s there for the longest time. But as the town became more civilized and other areas became more hospitable to folks walkin and doing shoppin and stuff, business just kinda dried up on High Street. That Woolworth’s eventually closed down and became the Surplus store.

Ben Watson owns it now... always seems to have a good supply of clothes suited for fishin and campin and stuff. Got my vest there last year... 'cause I couldn't find the one I'd bought the year earlier. Suppose I'm a good source of business for Ben. He sees me comin and takes out the latest stuff... for surplus that is. Think I'll buy one of them head nets to keep the bitin flies off. Last year theyse gave me a bunch of welts on my face and neck. Had to smear mud all over just to keep 'em off me. It worked, but wouldn't recommend it. That stuff can be pretty smelly ifn you grab some from near where a Brown Tailed Skipper's been building a nest.

Anyways, after I get my stuff back up to snuff, I'm planning on a little fishin trip out to Cotter's Creek. Maybe I'll even get so far as Widow's bend down where the creek meets the river. I'll let you folks know how it went next week. Now where did I put my fishin box? I know I put it in a safe place...

Guess that's it for now. 'Til next time. Jon