I'm still a catch and release fisherman
Cali. If I'm lake fishing on one of our Wisconsin vacations, I'll keep and clean for a Friday fish fry.
I have a lot of fish stories to tell
Donna. You know! The ones that got away. LOL!
Well! For my birthday, I wished for a cheapie digital camera to document my catches {:>)--.
Last week, coming down the south branch of the Kishwaukee (out of DeKalb - one of the few rivers in the country that runs south to north), I floated under two bald eagles, one adult, one juvenile. I guess we scared each other. They took off and perched on a dead branch overhanging the water down river. I floated down not paddling so as not to scare them this time. I floated right under them. They couldn't have been more than fifteen or twenty feet above me. You could see every detail of their coat and heads. A Kodak moment and I missed it. The eagles more than the fish were the impetus behind my request for the camera.
I have a fishing kayak (its a hybrid, a cross between a kayak and a canoe with a triangular shaped "dyhedral hull"). I can't tell you how many fish I've lost when they make a run for it under the Kayak or make a dash into the rapids. I use a 6-8 pound test line and file down most of the barb on the hooks (better chance of them getting away when they make their leap for freedom). When they get into the currents, I have to set the drag as low as it goes and they still get away.
Well, I'm going to browse and finish posting for the week and then its off to the local driving range before heading to the golf course.