Untitled
Jim Kass
You see my mom couldn’t swim and is afraid of deep water, so I said, “Let’s go to the Dubuque Marina then,” and she agreed that it would be okay there. You could still fish there then and didn’t have to own a boat to fish from the shore or to be on the property like you do now. We found a open spot in the corner where the water comes in and doesn’t go any further. We walked down the bank to the left of the docks with our gear and poles that we got out of the car. We found some rocks to sit on, where you could see that people had fished previously.
The water was calm at that time of the morning, it was about 8:00 am. It was still cool there from the night before and the sun was starting to peek out over the bank on the other side to the east of us. I was helping my nieces get set up, putting bobbers on for them, and showing them where to cast. I was having them cast to the left of us in the corner where I knew there were rocks piled up on the bottom. I knew this because I had fished here and all over the marina growing up. Mom was all set up with a worm and as she was about to cast out she looked over and gave me a warm smile. She cast out on bottom, over to the right, next to the docks. The girls had plenty of room then to cast out in front of us because it was all open water. They were excited and hadn’t gone fishing a lot. The bank to the left of us looped around to the other side, across from us.
I already had a lure on my good pole. It was a mepps #3 original gold spinner. I went over to start working the bank. I told the girls to stay there I wasn’t going anywhere. Mom was already getting nibbles, I figured I better get fishing since everybody else was. I was already, I could jump out of the car and fish, as I got there on the other bank, I looked out at the peacefulness of the water and the serenity of the nature that surrounded us, with the birds chirping in the trees and the coolness of the air from the night before, I always enjoyed this moment. It was calming, until a big boat came along. Waahhh! Just taking off in front of you creating a huge wave washing our gear up into the rocks and splashing you getting you wet, Nah! Just kidding. That’s why we’re fishing in the marina. Too many boats out in the channel, at times like this though, it reminds me of when me and my younger brother used to go fishing, we were about the same ages as my two nieces, my younger niece, the youngest, and my older niece.
I remember one time mom had said we could go fishing at the dam, but to stay off the wall! She was afraid of us being young as we were, of falling in, off the wall and drowning. We knew that fishing at the dam was where all the fish were, so we rode our bikes down to the dam. We were mischievous kids at that age, we went on the wall and fished anyway, sometimes looking for mom’s car to come along. Unknown to us, because we were fishing and catching fish, The Telegraph Herald had come along and snapped a picture of me and my younger brother fishing off the wall. We went home after fishing taking our days catch on a stringer, riding our bikes.
The next day we got up early and didn’t have chores because it was Sunday and went
downstairs to see if we could go fishing again. The Sunday Paper was there. Mom was looking at us kind of funny and she says, “Did you stay off the wall yesterday?” I think we kind of knew we were caught, thought maybe somebody had seen us, well, we said yes anyway and then she shows us the front page of the paper. Here, a lot of people had seen us. We were on the front page of the paper fishing off the wall we were “sooo” caught. No way of getting out of that one, my younger brother [] was my best friend in those days, we looked out for each other. I’m sure he would have went with us if he were home and not in the army in Germany or Saudi Arabia, serving our country. One thing about fishing is never have I gone and not had a good time.
Well, I could see mom was still getting bites on the bottom. The girls were casting out and reeling in. Just having fun, Mom just couldn’t catch whatever was biting, she kept getting cleaned. I was thinking maybe a smaller hook. I told the girls they needed to leave their poles in the water and wait for them like mom was doing. So they did with grandma kind of coaxing them along to be patient. I wish the fish would have started biting for them since I caught that northern, I was over at the other bank by then, in the middle to the left of everybody else, I started spinning again after picking up my pole where I laid it down in the grass. Starting at the bank to the right of me and working my way out to the deepest part and then back over to the bank to the left of me, I did this a couple of times and didn’t get anything so I walked down a little further and tried again. So out in front of me I was reeling in slow and “bam,” I got one on.
Oh, I love that feeling when they hit. It startles you, and then you get a rush of adrenaline. It’s just you and the fish then. Your excitement is thrilling. You think, what do I got and how is it, am I going to be able to get it in without losing it? The fight is on. They hit your line so fast and hard. Your pole bends in a second. It’s a great feeling. It was fighting well and took my drag out a couple of times when I tried to work him in when he splashed once [my younger niece] and [my older niece] realized what was going on and came a running over to me, I got him close to try to see what it was and seen that it was a big northern pike before he took off again. I worked him in and I could tell he was getting tired by this time. He splashed a little and I got him close to the shore. The girls wanted to help until I told them he had sharp teeth and to be careful. Their excitement of seeing such a big fish caught by me was priceless.
I held my pole up in the air and reached down and grabbed him behind the head and quickly brought him up away from the water, where he shook himself right out of my hand. I told the girls to use their feet and to keep him where I had him up in the grass away from the water. Cautiously they did because he had teeth. Mom hollers over, after I took him out of the water, “Nice one James.” The girls crowded around it looking down at it, so I unhooked him and laid my pole down in the grass and told the girls you better let me grab him. I grabbed him with both hands around his whole body by his head, and gills, and walked him over to the gear as the girls followed and I told them to grab my stringer and explained to them where it was.
I measured him also and he was 36″ long and 6″ wide. They both helped me get him on the stringer. Together we got him strung up and into the water where he would stay alive. My nieces were following me again and I told them they needed to check their poles and watch them. They might have something. The fish was still feisty, so they went back to the poles and were checking out the fish in the water. I told them that one of those fish could come along and get on their line and drag their pole right into the water. I said you need to watch your pole so that don’t happen. They wanted to come over and fish by Uncle James. I told them I needed space because I was casting. Well, I got back over to where my pole was and picked it up and started casting out and reeling in slow so my spinner was right off the bottom. I was casting in a big half circle, right to left. The girls were saying to me that they wanted to know how they could catch one of those fish and did I have any more of those lures.
Well, it wasn’t long before I had another northern on. The girls came running over again. Mom was kind of keeping an eye on their poles for them. They were all excited wanting to help me again. They asked what it was and I told them it was another northern pike as I had seen it surface already. Not as big, but, still big enough to keep. They worked as a team to help me get it out of the water. My older niece got under it with both hands and threw it up to my younger niece. What a trooper! A combined effort. They were having fun and I was proud of them. We got this one over there and with their help on the stringer this one measured 26″ by 5″ wide. They were a big help. Holding the tail while I was putting him on the stringer. Even though they hadn’t caught anything they were still having the time of their life. I went back to spinning after some time I wasn’t getting anything else. I didn’t want to wander far and leave them all alone. I went back to where they were. I rigged up casting out on bottom.
As the morning went on, a couple of boys showed up on their bikes at the top of the bank where we were fishing. I was thinking that it could have been me and my younger brother 15 years ago on our bikes. Well they had stopped and were looking down at us. They asked if we had caught anything? Now my younger niece who always had a little spunk to her attitude and was always funny, walks over to the fish on the stringer, and pulls the stringer with the fish on it, out of the water, trying to hold it up as my older niece helps her, so they can show them. The one northern was huge compared to her. The fish were wiggling in their hands, my older niece was smiling and my younger niece was just so serious looking. They were so proud of those fish showing them boys who looked roughly around the same age as them. The boys were so surprised when they pulled them out of the water to show them. They both said “wow” and went on to say what did you catch them on? Younger niece still all serious says to them “a fishing pole what did you think” I just laughed and looked at mom who was laughing also. Older niece just stood there helping younger niece, smiling and giggling.
I miss those days when you were young and didn’t have a care in the world. You could go fishing all day as me and younger brother used to do and all you had to worry about was running out of bait or making it home in time for supper. My older brother and sister would ask, where’s James and our younger brother? As my younger niece would say, “Fishing where do you think?”
Well, I was the only one who caught fish that day. I wound up catching a big blue gill that day also. The sun was up and the fish weren’t biting so we called it. We went home and mom got her camera out and took some pictures. I held the big northern and my younger niece held the other one sideways while my older niece held the tail with one hand and the other holding the blue gill.
These memories and memories of my brother are ones to be cherished. Everybody’s grown now as this happened over 30 years ago but seems like yesterday. They all have their own lives and families. I’m sorry to say my younger brother has passed away. It has been six years this March. He was a veteran and a 50-state marathon runner. He died suddenly of a heart attack. I miss him dearly and he will be remembered and loved each and every time I go fishing. The next time your kids or someone asks you to go fishing, go. You will create fun and loving memories that will last a lifetime.
Dedicated to my younger brother
May he rest in Peace.
I have one more story to add. It was around the same time as this. I was living in McGregor, Iowa. I fished a lot and was a favorite hobby of mine. It was fish fly season. I was by the basses there in town. I was fishing in between them and the shore. The bass were in there feeding on the fish flies like crazy. I could see them in there coming up to the top of the water and scooping the fish flies into their mouths. I was catching them on my favorite lure, my mepps original French spinner. Keeping the biggest ones. The fish flies were terrible and everywhere. You would be walking on the shore and brush your foot through weeds and they would be all over you. It started to get dark and the bats started coming out.
At first there were only a few bats but the darker it got the more bats there were. It got freaky because there were an unusually large amount of them filling the sky. I kept fishing and they kept getting thicker. I’m like, one more cast, I started hittin, them casting out. Then I was like this is it, my last cast. I was still catching bass. I would look up and they were everywhere. I’m guessing they are feeding on the fish flies. My last cast. Great, I hooked a bat in the leg. The only way to get it off my line is to reel it in. My first time bat fishing. Hopefully the last. I reeled it in to the end of my pole keeping it away from the trees behind me. I held the bat down with my pole because I didn’t want to touch it. I unhooked it from the skin of its foot. The whole time it had its mouth open baring its teeth moving its head from side to side. I let it go and it would survive.
I’m 55 years old and still fish when I have time. I miss those days when life was simpler and less complicated.
Uncle James