When Sara and Mitch go out fishing in the boat, I don't mind staying behind...because I'll be fishing off the docks at Beaverland. I'll catch all sorts of fish; Smallmouth Bass, Rock Bass, Pike, Perch, Pickerel, Catfish, and Sunfish. If you frequent Beaverland, you'll see me in my big sunhat, with a beer and my fishing rod in the water. It's almost a guarantee.
Now I grew up with fishing in my blood...I'm not too sure where it came from as I had no fishermen (or is it fisher-people now?) in my direct family/friend circle, but I loved it. When I say fishing in my blood, I mean I ate, slept and dreamt about fishing all of the time. If I wasn't fishing, I wanted to be. And when I was fishing, I was already thinking about the next time I could go.
I couldn't wait for the new Canadian Tire catalogue to come out. I would cut and paste all of the new hooks, lures, and bobbers and build my virtual tacklebox on a piece of construction paper. With birthdays, Christmas's and chores I could afford to buy a shiny new pack of hooks and sinkers from my favorite store. With my change I would get around $1.00 of Canadian Tire money to save for future spending sprees! I think you used to get a lot more Canadian Tire money back in the day...now I spend $1,000 and get a dollar back on a plastic card.
Now like I said, no 'fisher-people' in my family. So I would patiently wait for my mom to bring me to a local river, stream, or pond. I grew up in the concrete jungle of the GTA off the Q.E.W. and the only fishing holes we had were the streams from storm water runoff under the highway. Not the safest place for a youngster to be. My mom would take me out of the city to Brampton/Georgetown area and I grew up fishing in the Credit River. Rainbow trout, brook trout and sunfish were my go to fish to catch. A can of corn, some No. 2 hooks, splitshot sinkers, and a red and white bobber were my kit. My rod was a blue push button Zebco...it jammed up every third cast. You get very good at untangling fishing line owning one of these bad boys.
As I grew older I found out about Bass fishing and the joy of fishing from the docks. Bass love hiding under the docks for shade, to feed, and to hide from larger predators. I found that corn wasn't going to cut it for bait, I needed worms! So dew worm hunting I would go...3am wake ups and my trusty flash light, I would find hundreds of juicy dew worms each early morning. Remembering the joy and excitement of landing my first small mouth Bass with a worm on my hook still brings a smile to my face.
Fishing is more than the fish itself. It's the thrill of the bite, the excitement of reeling it in (constantly hoping the fish stays on the hook), the joy of holding it in your hands and then releasing it back into the water...only after you connect with it for a minute. That thrill, excitement and joy hasn't changed at all since I was a kid. Excitement still courses through my body even when I catch a sunfish...those little buggers can fight.
Now that I am older (42 years young) and have many years of fishing under my belt, I still enjoy fishing off the docks. My fishing equipment is a lot better, all kinds of different tackle and rods, I even have a fishing boat now...but I still fish mainly with worms, splitshot sinker, hook and bobber. It's my time to think, reflect and be peaceful. I feel a connection with nature and my surroundings.
There is nothing like it.
Sitting at the end of the docks.
At Beaverland.
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