Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Wicked Seductions: A Sunday Scribbling along with an update


Photo of Cedar Creek.

I know I’m two days late for Sunday Scribblings, but I have good excuses. I’ve been busy. This past week’s Sunday Scribbling prompt was “wicked,” and I’d had many ideas as it’s such a playful word and some folks say it’s a field I have experience in. I wrote this piece this morning, after my little adventure last night. My parents left yesterday morning and last night I fixed a Dutch oven dinner for a board that I sit on. We ate at the park down by the river and after everything was cleaned up, the water was just too enticing. I took out my flyrod and put on Tevas (sandals that can get wet—I was already wearing shorts) and heading into the water for a little relaxation. I caught five fish in about 15 minutes, three of them from the same hole, as I describe below.

Wicked Seductions

The sun had dropped out of the sky and darkness was descending upon the river when I spied a long parallel to the other bank. “One more hole,” I thought, “then I’ll pack it in.” As I moved into the middle of the channel, onto the sandbar covered with grass that waved in the current, I made a few casts to keep my line in front of me. The hole next to the log was protected by a number of low branches. I ruled out a direct onslaught. Keeping my pole parallel to the water, I made a sidearm cast. Feeding the line out, it unfurled under the branches, the leader dropping the fly just inches from the log. The water swirled and I yanked the rod to set the hook. The fish attempted to run under the log, then swam into the current. A smallmouth, she wasn’t even close to being legal, too small to give a good fight. I let her go and repeated the cast again, this time dropping the fly upstream a few feet above the point I’d hooked the first fish. As the fly drifted over the hole, the water again swirled and I gave a light yank. Three fish later, I called it a night and waded back upstream toward my truck. All three were too small and I let ‘em all go, but the thought of a perfectly wicked cast, enticing ‘em with a fatal dinner then granting a pardon was satisfaction enough.
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I should say a bit about fishing with my dad on Saturday night. We started late in the afternoon on at the lower end of Thornapple Lake, a spot known for Northern Pike. We didn’t find any Pike, but we continued on down the river to McKenow’s Bridge. At the confluence with Cedar Creek, we got out of the boat and fished with fly rods, each catching four or five bass in about 100 yards of river. In all, we caught a good mess of fish, but all the Smallmouths were too small. But we did get some large rock bass and it was fun watching my father having a good time fishing with a fly rod, something he seldom gets an opportunity to do.

15 comments:

  1. Cool story. Both my father in law and brother in law go fly fishing in Western Montana all the time. I should come along sometime. It sounds like fun. They always catch and release. Have to respect that.

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  2. Your 'Wicked Seductions' was teaming with double entendres, Sage. Are you sure you don't have a black walled playroom as well?
    :-)

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  3. Herb, out in those big rivers, you don't have to worry as much about overhanging limbs!

    Murf, You are predictable. I knew that just my title would get you excited!

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  4. Shoot, I was expecting some big fish story similar to "A River Runs Through It." But over the years, I've found that little fish like the perfect holes every bit as much as the big fish.

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  5. Actually, your title piqued my interest. The excitement didn't start until the yanking and dropping came into play and then you had to mention your pole...

    :-)

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  6. I hope you don't mind. I stole that photo for my wallpaper. That's MY kind of spot!!

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  7. As usual, great writing which makes great reading. :)

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  8. I have never been fishing although I did go on one of those boats that cast a huge net into the sea. But that was really horrible to see and I was furtively throwing back fish in the sea.
    I've been cabbing though - I suppose that would be the same - don't know

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  9. "wicked seductions" indeed!

    My, my, weren't you wicked?

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  10. Wickedly written too!

    Glad you enjoyed you're time with the parents!

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  11. So what did you cook in the dutch oven dinner? sounds like a lovely evening all around . . .

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  12. Loved this one, the pic and the story. Even though I'm no fisherwoman, I appreciate this.

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  13. Thanks an enchanting photograph of a very lovely place. I've said it before and I must say it again: Sage, you live in a very beautiful neck of the woods. The pics you've shared with us have been mesmerizing.

    And looks like you have a marvelous time with your father. So glad to hear about it.

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  14. Wicked seductions..you don't even want to know what I thought upon seeing that for the first time.

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  15. Ed, not all fish stories are big... and the best trout, Brook Trout, never get large lake rainbows or browns

    Murf, that wasn't at all what I was thinking

    Kenju, I'm glad your using it!

    Tim, Groom to be, good to see you out and around!

    Random, did you crab with pots or nets?

    Gautami, I'm not really that wicked! :)

    Jaded, thanks, and yes it was a good time.

    Diane, I fixed chicken, ribs and potatoes

    Scarlet, you're not a fisherwoman and you live where? I thought everyone down in S. Florida fished.

    V, maybe I should post some "bad" pics--this is a nice area, but people ain't exactly flocking to Michigan right now.

    Yes Mistress, we want to know!

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