The day started with a crowded ramp and marina. Anticipation of silver was in everyones eyes and the race to 200ft was on.
But skipper (left) and smiley (center) had other plans....
Without photo documentation theres little doubt my story would be doomed to remain silently within the deepest regions of my memory along side those such as the twins "Rachel" and "Heather" waiting in my college dorm room one night, apparently VERY lonely. Or my 3 month old son looking directly into my eyes and speaking the words "Your the best dad" (But only when I was the only person present to hear it!)
Without witnesses, such occasions share similaritities to my experience today, and theres little hope in convincing even a naive child they are in-fact the truth without the pictures to prove it.
As you can see in the photo below (which begs violently for an explaination) something is quite peculiar. If youve never fished with Skipper and/or Smiley, it may take a second to discover the oddities in the back-ground.
As I stated, the boat launch was jammed. Skipper seemed restless enough to be planning something. But HOW restless?
I was led blindfolded to the fish cleaning station, where I was instructed to "troll" using my hands. The large rubbermaid cans throughout the park had become our first hot spots, and Skipper wasted no time marking them on his GPS as soon as smiley screamed a muffled "fish on" from within a can.
Smiley seemed almost proud of his first "catch" (seen hanging at the left) as he displayed it to the gods running excitedly towards the boat (which remained on the trailer!)
"No fin" yelled the captain, and the thin carcass was tossed into the cooler. Smiley removed his own blindfold long enough to tag his...umm, "fish"(?) and then returned to rest his belly upon the edge of another can...feet in the air.
Wanting not to disappoint my hosts, I explained that I'd yet to find a keeper, but soon enough, Skipper and smiley had thier limits, and we all agreed it would be a good time to launch and check the crab pots.
Somehow, I convinced the Skipper to allow me to bait a hook while in the water in an effort to claim my ocean limit and soon after the sherrif completed writting us tickets for checking someone elses crab pots, Id hooked two fish and we beat the crowds back to the ramp.
After the photo, I was forced to think of a convincing reason why I could not attend the "next time" and it occured to me that willierower might enjoy such a trip being a fan of fish soup!
I left in a hurry without saying goodbye, and as I looked in my mirrors, I watched my hosts exchange grins and high-fives.
On the long trip home I thought...maybe its time for an IFish "open seat" disclaimer?
Thanks for the trip Jim. And thanks to both you and Andy for the hospitality....I had a great time dispite the "oops". Share the details as you see fit, but be kind, the bottom fishing incident was embarassing! Thanks again!
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[ 07-13-2003, 02:36 PM: Message edited by: cirrhosis-of-the-river ]
But skipper (left) and smiley (center) had other plans....
Without photo documentation theres little doubt my story would be doomed to remain silently within the deepest regions of my memory along side those such as the twins "Rachel" and "Heather" waiting in my college dorm room one night, apparently VERY lonely. Or my 3 month old son looking directly into my eyes and speaking the words "Your the best dad" (But only when I was the only person present to hear it!)
Without witnesses, such occasions share similaritities to my experience today, and theres little hope in convincing even a naive child they are in-fact the truth without the pictures to prove it.
As you can see in the photo below (which begs violently for an explaination) something is quite peculiar. If youve never fished with Skipper and/or Smiley, it may take a second to discover the oddities in the back-ground.
As I stated, the boat launch was jammed. Skipper seemed restless enough to be planning something. But HOW restless?
I was led blindfolded to the fish cleaning station, where I was instructed to "troll" using my hands. The large rubbermaid cans throughout the park had become our first hot spots, and Skipper wasted no time marking them on his GPS as soon as smiley screamed a muffled "fish on" from within a can.
Smiley seemed almost proud of his first "catch" (seen hanging at the left) as he displayed it to the gods running excitedly towards the boat (which remained on the trailer!)
"No fin" yelled the captain, and the thin carcass was tossed into the cooler. Smiley removed his own blindfold long enough to tag his...umm, "fish"(?) and then returned to rest his belly upon the edge of another can...feet in the air.
Wanting not to disappoint my hosts, I explained that I'd yet to find a keeper, but soon enough, Skipper and smiley had thier limits, and we all agreed it would be a good time to launch and check the crab pots.
Somehow, I convinced the Skipper to allow me to bait a hook while in the water in an effort to claim my ocean limit and soon after the sherrif completed writting us tickets for checking someone elses crab pots, Id hooked two fish and we beat the crowds back to the ramp.
After the photo, I was forced to think of a convincing reason why I could not attend the "next time" and it occured to me that willierower might enjoy such a trip being a fan of fish soup!
I left in a hurry without saying goodbye, and as I looked in my mirrors, I watched my hosts exchange grins and high-fives.
On the long trip home I thought...maybe its time for an IFish "open seat" disclaimer?
Thanks for the trip Jim. And thanks to both you and Andy for the hospitality....I had a great time dispite the "oops". Share the details as you see fit, but be kind, the bottom fishing incident was embarassing! Thanks again!
[ 07-13-2003, 02:36 PM: Message edited by: cirrhosis-of-the-river ]
