Little Fish in a Little Pond

Who knew that starting a new job in late summer meant that I would score a second company summer outing?! My first outing this year was to catch a Lowell Spinners Game (in Lowell, of course), and my second brought me to Laurel Lake in Lee for a bass fishing tournament, competing against six of my very new co-workers. (Sadly, my camera battery was dead when I arrived at the lake, so I've included a couple of cell phone pictures.)


I shared a boat with my remaining co-workers, and I quickly learned how to cast a line (and how to avoid getting snagged by someone else's cast line in tight quarters). I had gone fishing many times, many years ago with my dad, but we used a different technique. (I won't dispel that technique here, just in case it's his secret weapon — similar to the secret ingredient in his famous beef stew.) Proudly, and somewhat amazingly, I caught the first three tiny fish for our team.

It was a hot day, and apparently fish don't like the sun. Well, and we ran out of worms. My successful morning with the ol' hook and worm soon turned to hours of uneventful casting with some kind of fancy lure that made a rattle-y sound (do fish even have ears?). Early afternoon events included casting my line into a tree and getting a pretty bad sunburn on my chest.

Alas, here is the trophy our boat's team did not win. So close...if only one of my fish were a little bigger!


I got to keep my new rod and reel, and I now have a giant tackle box of goodies. I'd go out fishing again, but I need someone to help me put the worm on and take the fish off!