KEEP YOUR DRAWERS CLEAN #3

Yeah, I've done these types of post before, way back before Bruno even came on board, but I'll have to confess, these fishing lures were not in my drawers, thank God, but in my basement.  Click here for Drawers #1 and here for Drawers #2!

They were down there collecting dust, some rust, and some of the plastic lure skirts have begun to melt/deteriorate, causing a sticky mess in my tackle boxes.  If it weren't so damn hot I might cool them off a bit in the lake, but it is and has been.  So, they, like me, sit in the house only useful as reminders of the days when Judy and I used to fish.  

We had a nice bass/ski boat in the early 80's that provided lots of entertainment for about 4 years, then, in the 5th year, I decided to sell it before the tires dry rotted!  We had begun to look for excuses not to go to the lake; it's too hot, it's too cold, the winds blowing, or I think I heard thunder!  So, for the last year it sat there, still requiring monthly insurance, until we found a buyer that was as happy as I was the first day I bought it.  

They say "the two happiest days in a man's life is the day he buys a boat, and the day he sells it".  It's true, I felt the same emotion the day it was pulled away as the day I backed it into my carport!  Like most toys, they're just money pits.

We moved on to a "cement pond"...same thing applies...the day we moved from the pool was a glorious day.  I could actually appreciate fall again.  The pretty colored leaves did not fall into my pool and I was free - no opening, no closing, chemicals to balance!  The exact thought I had when I agreed with Judy to buy our current home in '94...no more leaves to skim off!

It seems that our toy phases came and went in 5-year cycles.  When grand kids came along, whelms for things of that sort seem to disappear, and I'm so glad.  The only thing we tend to do in 5-year increments now is to buy a new car, and possibly sex!

So, last night I was rummaging through my cool (temp) basement, looking for something "cool" to do inside, and found the old tackle boxes, with lures, and my fishing rods and reels.  I have to say, they brought back fond memories of days spent slowly working a plastic worm along the banks of Watts Bar, and its many islands, gently tugging on my line, listening to music ("catfish are jumping...black water keep rolling..."), sipping my favorite beverage, and talking to Judy.

I have to admit I miss it a little, but until I can afford to store my boat at a marina, and only have to call'em up and tell them to gas it up and sit it in the water for me, I will never own another boat.  Maybe I could rent...nah, I'd find some excuse not to go!

But, back to the lures, look at all the pretty colors...how many can you name (lures not colors)...or own?!

A few of them are on eBay and worth more than I paid for them, but I'll probably never get rid of them...unless my son wants them.  They just sit there, reminding me of the good 'ol days, collecting dust, and waiting for someone to either throw them away when I'm gone, or back in the water.

I like old things...mostly the old memories that go along with them...maybe that's why I like photography so much...memories preserved for a rainy day.  That's why I would have such a hard time putting a price on my lures and all the other junk I've accumulated over the years.  They're simply priceless!

CAN YOU SAY CATAWBA?

An American Indian tribe that lived in the South Carolina area, known as the Catawba (keto’be), gave this tree the name Catalpa (pronounced ketal'pe). It is said that the Indians smoked the bean pods for a hallucinogenic effect, so the tree became known as the "Indian Cigar Tree", the Indian bean, and smoking bean, some folks even refer to it as the “fish bait tree!”

Here in my neck of the woods this beautiful flowering tree is called the “CATAWBA!” We say “Ka Ta Ba” like it ought to be!

Paul “Squeaky” Goddard, his grandpa, and I used to go fishing at the Kingston Steam Plant using the Catalpa/Catawba worms that hatch from eggs left by the catalpa sphinx moth. The moth larva devours the leaves of the tree (the Catalpa is preferred) and often completely strips it of leaves which readily grow back. The tough skinned caterpillar is hard to push a hook through, and you have to push it through at least twice to get it to stay on the hook long enough to catch a crappie! If you leave too much hanging down, the fish will steal the worm bit by bit until your hook is bare!

Squeaky even kept some frozen in his freezer, by placing them in cornmeal or sawdust, packing them in a glass jar, and freezing them immediately. He often used them throughout the winter months.

In the original 35mm slide of Mr. Goddard, you could read the name of the reel clearly on the side. This scanned copy is a touch blurry, but you might be able to guess the manufacturer* anyway. Always thought I should have sent that slide to them!

The tree’s lovely flower can be seen in late May and early June. After that, the flowers are replaced by a long bean pod (cigar shaped pod in a cluster). This tree is in Harriman, Tennessee on Hwy. 29, in front of Bowers Elementary School and across from South Harriman Baptist Church.

The wood of the Catawba was widely used in the South for fence posts.

*Johnson Century Model 100B

IMPROVING FISHING IN THE POND OF LIFE

It is a well known, and scientific, fact that fish love structure. They feel secure hanging out near something in the water besides other fish, but in the absence of anything else, they will swim around widely dispersed or travel in hard-to-locate groups known as schools. However, lake, pond, or river fish prefer to hang out in fairly shallow water, with quick access to deeper water, near a log, or big rock, off a point.

To prove a point, I offer our situation Sunday at the theater. We arrived with just moments to spare and sat down high (about 10 rows from the top) and toward the middle of the theater, and for about five minutes thought we were going to be the only “fish” in the pond! I took this shot, just after coming back with popcorn, of Judy sitting by her lonesome to show everyone we had the show to ourselves.

However, just as the last trailer ended about six or eight other couples wondered in and every one of them sat within 6 to 10 feet of us. It must have been my old spare tire (structure, if you will) that drew them in close and made them seem safe. If you analyze our position, we were the point that jutted out into the pond (theater) just off easy access to the stairs leading down to deeper water!

I appreciate the fact that they improved our chances of surviving a shark, barracuda, or some other predator attack, but come on! Why, with 300 to 400 hundred other seats to choose from did they have to sit that close?

Judy and I used to bass fish, and we often dropped in structure, tires, old Christmas trees, etc. and photographed them from the river back toward the bank. When the water rose in the spring we knew exactly where the structure, and therefore the fish, was. I suppose I improved the fishing in the pond of life today as well!

Do you do this…do you sit close to others just because you feel safer? Do you pick the middle or end seats?

What drives your choice of theater seats, beside there are only two left?

Oh, the movie was “No Country for Old Men” staring Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Woody Harrelson, and Kelly Macdonald.

This movie has Oscar buzz attached to it, especially for the writing, directing, and the three main male leads. There is also some controversy over the ending, which I will not give away, but I can see why. I think the ending was one of the reasons Judy did not like it, but she said it was slow and boring. For me, I loved the writing and could see myself writing something similar, so I hung on every word spoken, especially by Tommy Lee. To me, his words were the key to enjoying the whole experience. His characters are always just that - an experience!