Lynne
Master of Arts
My stepfather married my mother when I was 15. I love him dearly and he has been the most positive influence in my life.
I really miss bass fishing with him. We had a nice, roomy Prowler trailer that we kept at Hampton Lodge, a family campground on the Currituck Sound in North Carolina.
The Currituck Sound, back then, was full of grass beds and black bass as well as rock (striped?) bass. There was a channel the ferry boats used where the water was more brackish and you could catch flounder. On calm days, we'd motor out near the channel to catch flounder and have a good ol' fish fry that evening. I understand that the Currituck Sound has been "fished out" of bass in the fresh water areas. I don't know if that's true or not.
My mother, stepfather, and myself would head out just before daylight. We'd find the "magic spot" (we hoped). My stepfather always put the shiners on my hook for me and took the fish off for me
One time, he took a catfish off for me and one of it's spike went all the way through his work boot and into his leg. He laid down in the boat on that one. He had tears rolling down his face. He said it hurt like a son-of-a-you-know-what.
We used cane poles. We'd make a hole in the grass with the end of the cane pole and then drop the line into the hole. Next, we'd beat the water with the poles to make as much noise as possible in order to attract the bass. People who were using fishing rods thought we were crazy, lol.
If we were lucky, we would catch a bass in the 2 - 3# range. It was very difficult getting them in. The would fight like mad and we had to pull them up through the grass beds. That was the fun part of course! They were also a tasty treat for the evening.
We'd head home about noon, have lunch, and take a nap. Once, my stepfather and I went out without my mother around 5:00 pm. He snagged something BIG. His cane pole went under the boat and snapped into two. We couldn't believe it. A few minutes later, I snagged something BIG. It was threatening to pull me out of the boat and the boat was being dragged slightly. My stepfather helped me pull it in. He did most of the work actually. It was a rock bass weighing over 5# we found. We figured that must have been the devil that broke his cane pole in half.
So, we went to the little store on the campground to have it weighed. We were guessing around 5 pounds. It was just a little over. All the other fishermen were jealous and envious as this teenaged girl stood there waiting to weigh her fish that was 2 times bigger than most of theirs
I really miss bass fishing with him. We had a nice, roomy Prowler trailer that we kept at Hampton Lodge, a family campground on the Currituck Sound in North Carolina.
The Currituck Sound, back then, was full of grass beds and black bass as well as rock (striped?) bass. There was a channel the ferry boats used where the water was more brackish and you could catch flounder. On calm days, we'd motor out near the channel to catch flounder and have a good ol' fish fry that evening. I understand that the Currituck Sound has been "fished out" of bass in the fresh water areas. I don't know if that's true or not.
My mother, stepfather, and myself would head out just before daylight. We'd find the "magic spot" (we hoped). My stepfather always put the shiners on my hook for me and took the fish off for me
One time, he took a catfish off for me and one of it's spike went all the way through his work boot and into his leg. He laid down in the boat on that one. He had tears rolling down his face. He said it hurt like a son-of-a-you-know-what. We used cane poles. We'd make a hole in the grass with the end of the cane pole and then drop the line into the hole. Next, we'd beat the water with the poles to make as much noise as possible in order to attract the bass. People who were using fishing rods thought we were crazy, lol.
If we were lucky, we would catch a bass in the 2 - 3# range. It was very difficult getting them in. The would fight like mad and we had to pull them up through the grass beds. That was the fun part of course! They were also a tasty treat for the evening.
We'd head home about noon, have lunch, and take a nap. Once, my stepfather and I went out without my mother around 5:00 pm. He snagged something BIG. His cane pole went under the boat and snapped into two. We couldn't believe it. A few minutes later, I snagged something BIG. It was threatening to pull me out of the boat and the boat was being dragged slightly. My stepfather helped me pull it in. He did most of the work actually. It was a rock bass weighing over 5# we found. We figured that must have been the devil that broke his cane pole in half.
So, we went to the little store on the campground to have it weighed. We were guessing around 5 pounds. It was just a little over. All the other fishermen were jealous and envious as this teenaged girl stood there waiting to weigh her fish that was 2 times bigger than most of theirs
