Thursday, October 20, 2005

The Pleasures of Getting Skunked


  • Our vacation was spattered with painting, fixing cracks in the plaster, scraping woodwork, cleaning out closets and one day of fishing.
  • The most memorable day was spent at Oil Creek. The water was very low but they did stock it last week. I was hoping for some dumb hatchery fish to fall for the tiny fly I had on the end of my hook but I guess my clumsy splashing through the water to get to my spot made even a dumb fish wary.

  • I find that I'm a pretty good flyfisherwoman for about an hour. My line lays out softly and pretty accurately when I concentrate on my form. If after about an hour I don't catch a fish, my attention span is shot. I soon find my line slapping the water in an almost spiteful way. Maybe I'll hit one on the head.

  • Then I start looking around to see if anyone else is catching anything. Is someone else catching them all? Perhaps my husband? I spot him down river and he seems content and happy sending his line out across the water but I don't see anyone catching anything.

  • Then I'm starting to think that perhaps I may soon have to find the restroom, not yet, but something to think about as I stand in the running water and starting to get a bit chilled from the late afternoon breeze.

  • Soon after that I'll go through my "looking around" stage. Oh, look at that bird. Gee, is that a beaver? What made that noise in the bushes?

  • Then a large orange leaf catches my eye as it floats gracefully down from the tree on the bank. Suddenly it is so quiet I can actually hear it hit the water.

  • Wow, it is so beautiful here, I'll think to myself. Then a Great Blue Heron flies overhead.

  • Thank goodness the fun of fishing doesn't depend on catching fish.

  • When the day was over and we were heading back we came across a nice lady who asked us how we did. Skunked, was my answer. She got 2, her husband, 5 rainbows. Really? "What did you use", I asked. Wooly buggers was her answer. Ahhh....wooly buggers.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

yep wooly buggers. My husband doesn't leave home with out them now.
He is an avid flyfishing person. And he loves Oil Creek. I like being out in nature but I don't fish.
There are two great flyfishing clubs in Erie if you and your husband are interested in them I could have Don send you the info.
Hey I like your sketch! Hope you do more. ;)

Erie's Argonaut said...

Thanks, Toni. I have a lot of cartoon ideas in my head, they just don't come out well on paper because I'm no artist. But I'm going to draw and then enhance them on the computer just for fun once in a while. We belong to Trouts Unlimited but haven't gone to any meetings, time conflicts etc. I absolutely love flyfishing and more women should take it up. You get to have more time with your husband. :-)

Unknown said...

the guys and gals (I think there are some) from both clubs meet at Gander Mountain on thursday nights.
It's free and anybody can go. You don't have be a member of either club.
Erie Casting Club
GCOC Flytiers Club
Gander Mountain lets them meet there to tie flies and whateve else they do.
Just the third thursday of the month they meet at Gem City Outdoor Club
You and your husband take a ride up to Gnader some thursday and talk with any of the gys there.
They meet in the back in the Gander meeting lodge