Fishing, practicing

When our pastor was at the house Saturday evening for dinner, he and I set up a date to try out the lake by our farm. It was going to be either Monday or Tuesday evening. He called yesterday afternoon to confirm for last night. As I was out helping Mama feed, he pulled into the driveway. He brought a ten-foot aluminum V-bottom boat for us to launch on the lake. We spent a few minutes casting a net for bait in the little tank in the barn lot but met with limited success. We did end up catching four small perch to use on a couple juglines. Since our time would be limited and we would not be able to leave the juglines overnight, we settled for what we had.

It was no problem to get the boat out of the trailer and launched in the lake. We were able to park the truck and trailer at a spot familiar to me where we have accessed the lake several times when we have fished from the bank. We loaded poles, a cooler, life jackets and a couple juglines into the boat before we pushed away. I was anxious to see if I could handle crawling into and around in a small craft like the one we were using. I did okay but it was a struggle. Being stiff in the back greatly limits certain activities. Having an unstable surface to move on adds to the difficulty. Getting in was the biggest challenge because I had to be bent over as I lifted my feet over the sides and the seats moving to the back of the craft. But I made it – slowly. Pastor then got in and pushed us off. It was a great test to see if I could use the canoe on the lake. It is less stable than the boat we were in, but I am going to try it soon. Launching from where we set off will allow me good access to the canoe. I should be able to push out into the lake easily and return to the same spot to get out of the lake. We will see.

The water was beautifully clear and quickly deep. We were not very far from the bank and were in about fifteen feet of water when we baited and left the first jug. Shortly thereafter we let out the second of the two juglines we had bait for. Then we fished. I let out a couple lines to trail us but we retrieved them after a short while so we could cast more freely. On one of my first casts I caught a large bass. Close to three pounds. Pastor was impressed that the lake had that size fish in it. He caught one of similar size, but it spit out the lure before we could net it and bring it in the boat. As we fished a storm was moving in and the wind began to be an issue. We were on the far side of the lake in only a few minutes – having to row back to our launch site against the wind. That took some effort, but it was still fun. The lake is only about six or e seven acres, so it is not huge. It is very deep, which allows for a great fish population in a small area.

Since we did not know if the storm would hit us or not, we beached the boat and began to fish from the bank. Pastor caught two bass. Only one was keeper. I caught two as well. Both of them were thrown back. We fished for about three hours with only the two large bass to show for it. Neither of the juglines gave us any fish. They needed to be left out overnight to be productive. I will try and do that this weekend or next. Pastor filleted the fish for us and headed home just at dark. It was a good time. Now we know that the lake is full of fish – especially good-sized bass. That means there will be crappie and catfish as well. I will definitely have to develop the habit of fishing it often. I am sure pastor will want to try again as the weather cools, but we will have to start earlier – or fish through the night. It was good to be on the water. Especially such clear water. That in sight of our house. In fact, the lake property shares a fence with our farm. It is a wonderful gift given us by the Lord. As for the storm. It passed us by completely, but some areas around us got quite a bit of rain.

Tonight, I hope to take the time to get my cello out. I have not had time to practice any of my instruments over the past few days. I want to get to the point that opportunities to play the instruments are times of relaxation. Right now, they are times of frustration. Especially the guitar. I struggle with developing the finger memory to rapidly hit the cords. I cannot honestly say I have even one cord position memorized. Certainly not mastered. On the cello, I am a little less frustrated, but far from the point of playing an offertory at church. My goal is to play a Christmas tune for an offertory this year, but I am progressing so slowly, I am not confident I will be able to do even that. Fortunately, Mama does not mind my squeaks and buzzes as I struggle to learn both the guitar and the cello.

Hopefully, she will be as accommodating as I try the harmonica.