With the Hunting & Fishing Day being held this weekend, I was reminded of a few great fishing memories that I've had since being in Baton Rouge.
A few years ago, as I was enjoying my weekly jog abound the LSU Lakes, I spotted someone fishing near to one of those turns around the beautiful homes that line the lakes. As I got closer, I could tell that he was pulling in a big one.
When I got near to him, I asked if he could use some help, since his fishing line was really bending. He motioned for me to go to his pickup truck around the bend to fetch his net. When I returned, we pulled in a Catfish that must've been about 3 ft long and weighed over 30 lbs. And to think, he said he was only using bread for bait! In talking with him afterwards, I learned he was Eugene Ledoux, Jr., who has been noted in The Advocate for years with catching many big ones!
Another memory was when we went to the Hunting and Fishing Day about 3 years ago. It was great to enter the kids in the fishing contest, as well as have fun with all the other activities there. Well as I was helping one of my sons to pull up what appeared to be a big one to win the contest, I pulled up something with funny "scales": a Christmas Tree. Unfortunately, an Advocate Photographer was there to capture our Big catch for all to see!
On another occasion, as we were once fishing at the United Plaza lakes off of Essen near Health South, we were also enjoying feeding the ducks. Something seemed to keep following the ducks that was making them appear nervous. We'd seen a small alligator before in the area from previous fishing expeditions but had heard that it was removed.
As we seemed to lure whatever it was closer to the banks, one of our sons got the long net and prepared to lower it to be ready to pull up for a big catch. I put more bread in and we got ready for the strike as we could see it approach. All of a sudden, my son snapped up a Nutria - at least before it quickly jumped out of the net!
Lastly, a few years ago after we had returned from one of our fishing trips to Alligator Bayou - where our oldest son learned to fillet fish from some supervised prisoners we'd met there - he and his friend were fiddling with their fishing poles. I was playing basketball with our other son and not paying much attention to what they were doing.
Next, out of the corner of my eye, I could see some neighbors taking their daily walk - and they were reaching down to pick up what appeared like a $ 5 dollar bill! Well lo and behold, as they reached for the dough, it moved! At first, I thought the wind had moved it, but this happened a few times, as I noted there not being any wind.
Finally, I could see our son across the street hiding behind some bushes holding his fishing pole and bringing in a big $ 5 dollar catch. His friend was also hiding nearby and helping to stage the event. They had rigged up the line perpendicularly to the street and used a tree to position the money on the line for oncoming walkers! What a sight it was to see this repeated with others who were hoping to catch a big one that night!
Keith John Paul Horcasitas, 1133 Knollhaven Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70810, khorcasitas.yahoo.com, September 16, 2007.
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Phishing for Dough or Fishing for Fun?
