i'm a keeper!

I know it may sound childish, but being accepted by your peers is a good thing. Earlier this evening, while pulling the lower leads on the net it was announced that I was a keeper. Charlie said it and Tim agreed with her and said I was all right.... Of course with my smart ass mouth I remarked, "how could I be all right, if I have a left side?" They didn't get the joke. Regardless, it was a wonderful moment and just then the rain didn't seem to feel as wet, and my Elliemae's barking didn't seem so annoying and the ache in my shoulder ebbed. I smiled warmly and pulled all the harder. I guess when you show up to haul nets while it's raining and you bring your dog too, you're part of the crew.

Yes I brought Elliemae down to the island. I was the first of the crew and I let her run around. She was very happy to be out of the house and sniffed everywhere. I work such long hours (when I do work) that she struggles with boredom and craves attention. When Dan and Charlie arrived and opened the shed, she had to scramble up the steep wooden stairs to sniff out every corner. Later she got caught in the nets and was a general nuisance, so I tied her up on a bench near the shed. She barked the entire time she was up there and only quieted whenever I made eye contact with her.

It rained tonight. There was a threat of thunderstorms, but we were lucky and there was only rain. The were some strong gusts of wind and the trees on the island bent and swayed, but without a thunderstorm we went out. I was told if there was one lightning bolt in the sky we immediately would stop the hauling for the day. It held off until we started pulling in the nets. Charlie's clipboard to keep the count of the catch and the type of fish got soaked. I wore a water resistant slicker and I was soaked by the end of it.

Despite the rotten conditions, it was an incredible catch this evening. We pulled in somewhere around 300 catfish, several fiesty stripers, bass, suckers, walleyes, several ominimously large carp and one vivid orange koi. There was a Pennsylvania Fish and Wildlife representative there tonight and said we should kill the koi, but the beast slipped out of our hands and got away. He said they were pests and did not belong in the river. We caught one shad but it was too small and so we
tossed it back.

I have to admit I'm still a bit nervous about grabbing at the fish, so I stand there in the water holding up the corks to prevent the fish from escaping. The catfish has this barb of sorts on it's top fin...you can tell I'm not a fisherman... that can stick you if you're not careful. The cat though is the only fish I can readily recognize. I marvel at the others picking up some huge fish and calling out their make and model like they are picking up some groceries and tossing them back into the water. I'm still not at their level yet.

Finally finished and soaked from the rain and splashing fish I got Elliemae and she immediately ran over the bridge to the car. She was soaked as well from being out in the rain. I dried her off while she said in the hatchback of the car and now she's snoring outside my office.

cheers,
greg