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.