Monday, May 10, 2010

Big Green Pickle in a Bag


Guest Post - I welcome my adorable husband back to record the story of fishing with Gage, check out the short video below as well.

For those of you that Blog, you may http://adcockcircus.blogspot.com/2009/11/fishing-from-daddys-point-of-view.html that I do not. The last time I was a guest here was following the first annual "Fall Fishing Trip" with Gage. As of now Davis and Truman are not old enough to go, you must be 7 to fish on the river. While the fall fishing trip may have failed to produce fish, it was a great opportunity for Gage and I to reflect on those important life lessons that I believe can be learned while spending a day fishing. The "Spring Fishing Trip", on the other hand, was nothing short of spectacular for catching fish, truly a day of great fishing.

Gage and I left from school on Friday afternoon and headed straight for the Davidson River in Transylvania County, near Brevard North Carolina. The Davidson River is the only river in North Carolina to be listed on Trout Unlimited's Top 100 Rivers in the U.S. We spent about 3 hours fishing and managed to catch one small brook trout, a disappointing slow start. But the river is beautiful as was the weather, no wonder it is such a great fishing destination, it lived up to its reputation as a very challenging river to fish. The night ended with a trip to Zaxby's for wings and then off to the hotel.


Saturday we decide to try the French Broad river just outside of Rosman N.C. I had never fished this river. On our way to the river we made a stop at Ingles, the local supermarket, for sandwich's. Our routine usually involves eating lunch on the river, so we needed supplies. While searching the sandwich choices in the deli, Gage came across a very large "Dill pickle" in a sealed bag. He suggested we get it. While the thought of a large dill pickle in a bag may not appeal to most, there are many foods that are actually BETTER on the river after a morning of fishing than anywhere else. I think this pickle was one of those foods.


We managed to find a perfect spot on the river and began fishing by 10:00am. By lunch I had brought one brown trout to hand and Gage had landed and lost one himself, which he was very upset about. We got out our sandwich's and yes, the pickle, riverside. The sandwich's hit the spot, but it was the pickle that completed the meal. It was very "dill" and surprisingly crunchy despite the many days or even months it may have spent in the bag before today. The pickle must have brought some form of good luck, because after lunch our weekend turned around. By the end of the day Gage had caught 8 fish and I had caught 6. Gage caught the largest trout of the day after having him take the lure several times before Gage managed to bring him to hand. He kept trying for about 15 minutes despite landing him and losing on several casts, but his perseverance paid off in the end. By the end of the day we had managed our first "Grand Slam", all 3 trout species caught in one day, Brown, Brook, and Rainbow.

The day was finished with a visit from the NC Fish and Wildlife officer, checking our fishing license's. Gage and I spent a few minutes talking with him about the days catch, and the importance of preserving our wildlife resources.

The ride home was like other drives home after a good day of fishing, some quiet time reflecting on the events of the day, re-telling that story about the really big one that got away, and a moment for me to realize once again how glad I am that my father and grandfather taught me how to fish.
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