The Fish Meister

Day on the lake Dept:

Headline:
.
. .............LACK OF WATER
...........HURTS ICE FISHING
.
........ The best ice-fishing is found
........in backwater channels where
........there is ample water. .But .in
........most of north Georgia, there
........isn't that .much water, or for
........that matter ice thick enough
........for the sport even in the...
.
********************
Editor's Comments:
********************
Whatever it happens to be; ice... water... rod... reel... bait... it's never that much of an issue when fishing and The Editor are concerned.
.
The only thing that .really matters is that there's a comfortable place to plop and relax .before getting down to the ugly business of baiting up and heaving either a night crawler or a good-sized chunk of raw chicken liver into the drink* and onto the bottom of the old pond.

Sometimes I'll even put whatever it is on a hook, but mostly I don't.
.
After I finally manage to get a line in the water I put my feet up on the railing of the dock and hope like crazy that the fish will leave me alone while I'm occupied with the radio broadcast of whatever game is in progress at the time and my big lunchbox filled to the brim with its stash of Vienna sausage, crackers, Velveeta, and dill pickles.

My cooler loaded with ice-cold brewskis and a baseball hat with a wide brim covering my already half-closed eyes, I'm ready at last for a great day of angling.  Oh Boy!!
.
Whenever I'm out on the water, this routine has been both my habit and custom for many long years.
.
As far as taking fish home goes, at the end of the day if I've had good luck and my stringer is empty, I'll gleefully bag up my chicken livers (now destined for the grill) then make a quick stop at the grocery to pick up two, maybe three pounds of catfish or perch before I hit the front door of the homestead at a rolling gallop.
.
When I'm flush and in party mode, then bother any fish as I'll always opt for a nice thick sirloin, a well-marbled rib-eye, or a succulent slab of fat juicy pork ribs. .Boyhowdy!!!
.
So far, I have had the best results at Winn Dixie, with Giant and Safeway coming in a very close second and third. All three are fine spots to snag either a whopper, a prime cut of beef, or ribs that will melt in your mouth whether they're smoked or barbecued.
.
With the chicken livers snugly wrapped in thick bacon to be roasted over red hot coals as high-dollar appetizer$ and my cooler full of P.B.R. once again, I'm in store for an evening of culinary delights.

On the other hand, if I've had bad luck and the fish were biting it can get ugly, because I'm now forced to take the time and trouble to stop along the way back and find someone - anyone - who'll take whatever I've happened to catch off my hands... hopefully for free.

That chore over and done with, it's finally time to go do the shopping thing and trek on to the house for supper.
.
It's good that I usually get skunked because if I didn't, I'd have no other choice but to give up one of my favorite pastimes.
.
One might say that the way I fish is no sport at all, but using methods gleaned from many painful years of experience, I'm able to enjoy the time-honored custom of fishing without having to worry about such bothersome inconveniences as scales, slime, fish guts, and the like.
.
Don't get me wrong now... The Editor, a long-time sportsman, is a HUGE advocate of fishing, a member in good-standing of B.A.S.S. and a firm believer in the age-old adage...

The worst day fishing is better than the best day working! 

You betcha!

But... strange as it may seem, though he loves to go fishing, he doesn't actually like to catch fish at all!!
.
Admittedly this contradictory statement makes no sense whatsoever, but that's the way it is; like it or not!
.
*I've been told, and more than once, that I should attach my chunk of chicken liver firmly to a #3 treble hook or it will fall off.
.
I always ignore this well-intentioned advice as if I follow it, I might well catch something.

... and we wouldn't want that to happen now, would we?
..
Anybody out there got an old broken Zebco they're fixin' to toss?