Sunday, August 14, 2011

A Fish Tale

A remote Northern Ontario lake
Alone in the boat
Alone on the lake
I cast
Drat!
My lure hits a beaver!
Splash! Slap!
My line screams out
And out
And out
Do I cut the line?
I hang on
Little line left on my reel
But, wait!
I'm reeling in
I breathe
I reel in
My line screams out
I reel in
I am hopeful...
...to help that beaver
...to recover my lure
...to keep the boat upright
Will I be lucky?
Will this be a disaster?
My line screams out
I reel in
Dare I play this out or cut line?
Do I want that beaver near the boat?
He won't be passive
I ponder inconsiderate acts of fishermen
I'm tired
I reel in
A stiff drink and the warm camp, more than an hour away
I reel in
Big and heavy, under the boat
The water swirls
Can I recover my lure?
Can I rescue that beaver?
Can I save myself?
Wait!
A fish head at the end of my line?
Wait!
A fish tail on the other side of the boat?
Yes!
Drat! No net
Drat! No camera
I release the Northern monster
Drifting back down
Out of sight now
70 feet of water shrouds the giant
An hour back to camp
A warm campfire
A stiff drink
A clear night sky
The wolves are howling
And I feel alive!

"Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after" ~Henry David Thoreau

"I love fishing. You put your line in the water and you don't know what's on the other end. Your imagination is under there." ~Robert Altman

1 comment:

  1. I see you spent a lot of time writing your content

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