9/26/11

"I've been travleing for some time...with my fishing pole and a bottle of shine."



Bubba Sparks is my favorite rapper of all time! I love me some Tupac and Biggie but neither incorporated my favorite hobby into one of their songs. Bubba on the other hand, must be an avid angler because in his very popular song deliverance he talks about getting tore up on moonshine while traveling with his favorite companion, Mr. Rod himself. I can definitely relate to the traveling, fishing and boozing! I don't always know where I am going but with a fishing pole in one hand and a bottle of booze in the other I don't really care.
 
Speaking of boozing and bassing check out this video of the back woods Bill Gates, real name Norm Price. He came up with the brilliant idea of making lures out of beer bottle caps! Hell Yeah Norm! He has stumbled upon a hat trick of Wayne Gretzkey proportions! Oh the life, catching a buzz a bass and some bucks all while recycling. This ones for your Norm! You inspire me.     

 
Backwoods Bill Gates. 
Maybe Bubba will run into Norm on one of his traveling benders and they will become best friends. I think they would have a lot to talk about, I just sure hope they invite me for a day out on the water. Their guiding service would be called Bubba and Backwood Billy's Beer Bottle Cap Bassin Adventures, Their slogan would read, "We can't guarantee you catch a bass but we can guarantee you a good buzz!"    

Skyman out



9/12/11

Not all bass fisherman are created equal.

July 17, 2011



I have been reading a book called Double Whammy, a murder mystery with a comedic twist that takes place within the tournament bass fishing world of South Florida by Carl Hiaasen. The book is entertaining but really stereotypes bass fisherman. For example see quote below:
"On the night of January 15, Dickie Lockhart got dog-sucking drunk on Bourbon Street and was booted out of a topless joint for tossing rubber night-crawlers on the dancers. The worms were a freebie from a national tackle company whose sales reps had some to town for the big bass tournament. The sales reps had given Dickie Lockhart four bags of assorted lures hooks, plus a thousand dollars cash as incentive to win the tournament using the company's equipment. Dickie blew the entire grand in the French Quarter, buying rock cocaine and rainbow colored cocktails for exquisitely painted women, most of whom turned out to be flaming he-she's out trolling for cock. In disgust Dickie Lockhart had retreated to the strip joints, where at least the boobs were genuine. The trouble happened when he ran out of five dollar bills for tips; finding only the slippery night crawlers in his pockets, he began flicking them up at the nude performers. In his drunken state he was vastly entertained by the way the gooey worms clung to the dancers thighs and nipples, and would occasionally tangle in their pubic hair. The night-crawlers looked (and felt) so authentic that the strippers began shrieking and clawing at their own flesh; one frail acrobat even collapsed and rolled about the stage as if she were on fire. Dickie thought the whole scene was hysterical; obviously these girls had never been fishing. He was mildly baffled when the bouncers heaved him out of the joint (hadn't they seen him on TV?), but took some satisfaction when other patrons booed the rough manner in which he was expelled."
The angler I fished with at Castaic Lake in July was the opposite of Dickie Lockhart. His name was Jim and he is a retired Aeronautical Engineer. When I got in his Toyota Land cruiser to back his boat down to the water instead of the usual country tunes of Tobby Keith or Hank Williams the soothing sounds of classical music tickled my inner ear. Don't get me wrong I love me some Country Music, I even attended the Country music festival Stagecoach this year in Indio, ca, but it was nice to see something outside the norm. I don't consider myself a stereotypical bass fisherman so it was refreshing to meet a fellow angler that didn't necessarily fit into the typical tackle box.

What up Jim! Oh, you want two more beers?  
Back to the fishing, well it was a lot more casting than catching that's for sure. We started in the back part of the lake, Elizabeth Canyon to be exact and had some action early in the day but it died off around 9:30 am. Bass like to feed early in the summer months and then retreat to the cool temperature after they have gotten their fill. Jim caught our first fish on a split shot worm. It was a decent 2 pound bass, but it was our only bass of the day. I caught a catfish on a drop shot worm which was fun, but would not count toward our total weight at the end of the day.
The anticipation before a big day on the water. Will I catch a ten pounder today?
Castaic Lake ladies and gentleman. 
The steep rocky slopes of Castaic. Different from the lakes I am used to. 
Jim's bass and my catfish, "Dude, you're weird looking."
"No bro you have whiskers growing out of your face! Get out of here with that non-sense. What do you think you are a cat or something?" 
Peddle to the medal Jim! 
Random dead rabbit on the lake. "You silly rabbit, where is your life vest?" 
Take home lesson of the day, not all bass fisherman listen to the same music and go for the same political candidate, but we do share a common love of the outdoors and a good hard tug on our rods :)

Skyman out.