Fishing

Today was a better day. We were able to drive most of the way home last night, but got too tired and pulled over in a secluded, closed truck stop and stayed for free. No camping fee.

After waking, we had one of those simple, entertaining, productive days of doing nothing but what we wanted. We went to a free wildlife range and pulled over to watch the buffalo walk by outside our window as we ate cold cereal for breakfast. We then continued on to a campground where they let me shower for free. We went around to the other side of the lake and fished for a while. No luck there, so we drove to a small creek with a tiny dam just outside the park. I set my fishing pole into the water, went back inside to rejoin my wife, who laid on the overcab bed and read.

I sat at the picture window with a beautiful view of this wonderful Oklahoma creek and watched my line, the ducks across the way, and continued to read Walden. It is encouraging that fish was the only meat Thoreau allowed himself to eat over the two years at Walden Pond. Instinct told me that fishing would be a frugal thing if done correctly. I can catch our food, the food that is probably best for someone with a heart condition like mine.

After a time, Wife fell asleep, and the day slowly wore on. Soon, a couple drove down the dirt road past our RV and parked near the shore farther down. About this time I decided to clean up the mess other people left around where we were parked, and load up my equipment. Before I left I walked down the road to where this elderly couple was fishing to check their luck. Unlike me, they were catching one little bream after another. Their hook was not in the water more than a minute before they caught one. Seemed like great luck to a beginner like me, but it turns out this is not what they were really fishing for. This was going to be their bait! They were actually going to a large lake nearby that is known for giant catfish. This retired couple does this almost every day. Just yesterday, they caught a 23 pount catfish!

Afte taking just a couple of helpful hints from these two old pros, I jumped in the RV and headed for Catfish Heaven. When we arrived, we fired up a grill, cooked a few hotdogs and heated up some beans, ate lunch, and went fishing for Giants.

After a couple of hours with only a nibble at my stinkbait, we decided that I needed to do more research. So, we headed for home, where I worked on weeding our small vegetable garden before going to the library to pick up the book on catishing that I had ILLed. After reading it, I decided that I had been doing MOST things right. The right bait, the right size pole, the right line, the right place (near the dam, in the rocks). I just hadn't been patient enough.

Anyway, I'm encouraged. Wife is going yard sailing this weekend, and will be on the lookout for inexpensive rods and reels. Here in Oklahoma, I am allowed up to 7 lines in the water at once! If I can't catch something with 7 lines, I'm in trouble.