Memories- Fishin

Some of the days I miss the most are when I was young and dad took us fishing. There were four of us. When we all went, mom would come along too but most of the time he'd take only one or two of us.

First he told us to go dig for worms. This was fun too. We would walk down to the edge of the forest and rake back the dead leaves that blanketed the rich black dirt. There were several squirmy worms and in no time we would fill a container up with fifty or so worms. This was in the days when you could fish without a license as long as you used live bait. 


We'd grab our bamboo poles and bobbers as he would shuffle through the storage room for his reel and rod and tackle kit. He would often take us about three miles away to small waters around the foot of Cramer Mountain where there were flat river banks and fresh water. 

Poor Dad. I do not think he got any fishing done because we were always hanging our line in brush or feeding the crappies the bait faster than he could put it on the hook. I think we could have caught crappies with no bait at all. We even caught daddy's shirt and fingers several times. We kept him busy and made him grumpy. It was fun though. I later learned to bait my own hook and even take the fish off the hook myself. 

Then there was fishing with Grandma. That was special. She would only take one of us at a time. I remember getting to sleep over at her house so we could get out to the lake before sunrise. She liked to fish in the man made ponds that you would pay a small  price and fish all day. All day it was.
With shrimp or worms as bait, I would help her catch catfish. They were never as big as her stories, but that was our secret. 


She would bait her hook and with a cigarette in one hand and coffee in the other, she would sit with four or five rods on stands waiting on the lines to sneer. She was a good fisherman. I spent most of the day reeling in and out and often running from bees. This is were I learned to eat potted meat sandwiches and beenie winnies from the can. I also learned how to potty behind trees.

Those were the days.

8 comments

  1. My father was a serious fisherman. Fly fishing in fast running mountain streams. The family used to follow him along the banks with a frying pan. When he caught was when we ate. Rainbow trout. Mmmmm.

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  2. Great Fishing memories. Fishing is Great here. Safeway is only a few blocks away. (hee hee)

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  3. Great family memories! Your grandma sounds like a lot of fun.

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  4. I only went fishing once with my dad. Or as I called it, catching nothing in a dirty lake while my dad drank beer.

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  5. hahhaa, you are just the cutest thing....:)
    Fishing is one of my favorite sports to do....love it. But, I don't eat fish..I sure do love to catch them, tho. My dad used to take a cousin and I fishing around Dallas and it's some of my most fond memories...I better do a post, myself, on fishing. LOL xo

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  6. Nice memories. : ) No fishermen in my family.

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  7. Oh, weren't you lucky. Such a wonderful time, I went fishing with my dad a couple times, always enjoyed it. BIL and sister were the fun fishermen.

    Loved your memories. I bet your dad did too. Crappie is one of the best eating fish in the world, to me it rates up with Halibut & Flounder. In Florida they are called Specks (short for Speckled Perch).

    But it is hard to beat the small crappie from a NC creek.

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  8. The image of your granny baiting her hook with a cigarette in one hand and coffee cup in the other was quite a visual. Love it. Grandmas are characters who make memories for their grandchildren in so many ways.

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