10-24-2003, 11:29 PM
Quote:By the way, do you still fish?
Occhi, why do you ask such an open ended loaded question? Did you intend to leave it open ended? There are no accidents...
Do I fish with a bow? Sadly no. I have gotten weak from my illness. I like about 70 to 80 pounds of pull on a bow for fishing. Needs oomph to punch through the water and the fish. I can barely pull a 50 pound bow now. I can do it, but, my hands tremble and shake badly, and I can feel my back and shoulder muscles quivering from the strain. Aim still fairly good though inspite of that. I could use a any numbers of the crossbows I have.... But it's not the same. There is something clean and beautiful in the pull and draw of a good bow, the arrow striking the fish, and then pulling in your dinner. Crossbows are good for hunting large game, not for fish. I can't explain it, it's just not the same.
I have a pond on my property. It has fish in it. Was informed recently not to eat the fish. Water supply contaminated. Lousy anal sphincters polluted my water. I fish on occasion. Catch and release. With a fishing pole. Home made. Cane pole. Fishing is very zen. But I ache for the days when I could fish with a bow. Fishing with a pole just seems so, well, passive for a lack of a better word. Anybody can fish with a pole. Fishing with a bow takes skill. It is a game of patience. Skill. Aim. Knowing all of the right conditions, having deadly accurate aim, and knowing your prey is all good, but, you can still miss, and will do so on many occasions. It is more mental then anything else. Having the right arrow and the right line for the right kind of fish. You shoot the fish, but, it aint over. Depending on the fish, you might need to dive in and fight the fish. You reach in, grab the arrow through the fish, and get it ashore. The fish gets a fair fight for his life, and you get yours. There are fish capable of kicking your behind. Those kind taste better. Course, I am a crazy old coot. I have gone catfish grabbing, using my bare hands as bait. Reach down under the riverbank and if your lucky, grab a fatty catty. Or you might get a snapping turtle, a muskrat, or a snake. Catty bites down on your fingers, chews your skin off, you grab him by his lip, get him in a bear hug, and haul his 30 pounds of solid muscle ashore. Free dinner. Lots of people do it. Poor folks used to do it all the time, now it is becoming something of an extreme sport. Bah. I believe strongly in fair is fair concept. If you plan to eat something, you should not be afraid of something getting a bite to eat of you first.
Do I fish for people? All the time. I work in charity now. Shelters, soup kitchens, and various forms of aid. I manage a loaves and fishes trick and do a darn good job at it. Might say I have constructed a good net to catch folks, er, fish.
So yes and no on the fishing question.
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."