Bob on DuPage River @ Shorewood - Aug. 2019
There's a nice river nearby. It's called the DuPage. It's about 50 miles or so west of Chicago. Flows nicely when there isn't a lot of rain. It can be clear too; looking more like trout water than smallmouth water, but it's too warm for trout. (And, that would be Smallmouth bass. I like that fish. A lot.) Very pretty that river can be much fun to wade around in.
I always wear waders. Light-weight ones. No wading bare-legged any more with water up to my tender bits. The water may be clear, and look clean, but aging immune systems aren't always as strong as young ones. I'm not interested in trying to "man up" and wade against little bitty live things that can find ways to get into and under the skin.
Age. Wisdom. Sometimes a good match.
True, youth isn't wasted on the young, but it wouldn't hurt if some of that youthful vim and vigor, piss and vinegar were spread out a bit more evenly over six or seven decades. Nonetheless, I still have - with whole bunches of gratitude, I must state - legs that allow me to wade in current over uneven rocky bottoms for four to five hours or so. Many can't.
Back to my fish. This is a nice size one for this species. The camera didn't catch my toothy smile. The fish was jumping around a bit, needed to hold her steady. The smile dropped a bit. But I'm smiling inside, like an eight-year-old about to dive headlong into a big piece of chocolate cake and a bowl of ice cream.
The fish was released. I only eat fish in a restaurant, a fast food joint, or one I buy at the grocery store and have at home.
The rod I'm holding is a Tenkara rod. It's a Japanese style of fly rod. 13'6" long. No reel, no reel seat, no regular fly line. Real light in weight and it is fished with one hand. It holds a light line (a leader) at the tip of the rod, some tippet, and a fly or lure. Very simple (but not simplistic). Lot's of fun. Full of creative possibilities. I catch a lot of smallmouth using it while wading the "Dupe" and other succulent rivers. (Yeah, that's right. I said "succulent." Ain't manly enough? KMA.)
Oh, the catfish hat? That's another story.
Life is good, don'cha' know.
Photo by John Miao.
Bob on DuPage River @ Shorewood - Aug. 2019
There's a nice river nearby. It's called the DuPage. It's about 50 miles or so west of Chicago. Flows nicely when there isn't a lot of rain. It can be clear too; looking more like trout water than smallmouth water, but it's too warm for trout. (And, that would be Smallmouth bass. I like that fish. A lot.) Very pretty that river can be much fun to wade around in.
I always wear waders. Light-weight ones. No wading bare-legged any more with water up to my tender bits. The water may be clear, and look clean, but aging immune systems aren't always as strong as young ones. I'm not interested in trying to "man up" and wade against little bitty live things that can find ways to get into and under the skin.
Age. Wisdom. Sometimes a good match.
True, youth isn't wasted on the young, but it wouldn't hurt if some of that youthful vim and vigor, piss and vinegar were spread out a bit more evenly over six or seven decades. Nonetheless, I still have - with whole bunches of gratitude, I must state - legs that allow me to wade in current over uneven rocky bottoms for four to five hours or so. Many can't.
Back to my fish. This is a nice size one for this species. The camera didn't catch my toothy smile. The fish was jumping around a bit, needed to hold her steady. The smile dropped a bit. But I'm smiling inside, like an eight-year-old about to dive headlong into a big piece of chocolate cake and a bowl of ice cream.
The fish was released. I only eat fish in a restaurant, a fast food joint, or one I buy at the grocery store and have at home.
The rod I'm holding is a Tenkara rod. It's a Japanese style of fly rod. 13'6" long. No reel, no reel seat, no regular fly line. Real light in weight and it is fished with one hand. It holds a light line (a leader) at the tip of the rod, some tippet, and a fly or lure. Very simple (but not simplistic). Lot's of fun. Full of creative possibilities. I catch a lot of smallmouth using it while wading the "Dupe" and other succulent rivers. (Yeah, that's right. I said "succulent." Ain't manly enough? KMA.)
Oh, the catfish hat? That's another story.
Life is good, don'cha' know.
Photo by John Miao.