The truth about lying about fishing

By Bill Prater

In the spirit of the holidays, humor me as I reminisce about taking my nephew fishing at a pond near his home. We talked about many manly subjects. Like, “the plural of fish is fish. So if you caught just one, and someone asks how you did, you say, “Wow, did we catch fish!” When we got back home, an auntie asked Sam what his uncle had taught him. The lad – now an attorney , I should add – answered, “He told me how to lie about fishing.”

  Truth is, I am the envy of wives and fishing friends for my truthfulness about the size and quantity of fish caught. They do point out that they can’t disprove anything, because I release everything I catch. But I am also known to tolerate Loveland Fishing Club buddies who cheerfully lie about any damned thing, every Friday morning breakfast. So, am I culpable here? Does tolerance for the truthiness of others mean anything anyway, in an era when lighthearted lying has been transformed into professional career paths?

  Aw, I don’t know. Some people talk about disgraced ex-congressman George Santos like he was a horrible person. But the truth is, others keep insisting he was just a little stinker who told colorful white lies. You do have to wonder, though, if you’d fib about your mom dying in a collapsing building on 9/11 what would you do in a fishing tournament? 

Speaking of tournaments, it sounds like those two disgraced Lake Erie walleye fishermen paid a higher penalty than old George. Both lost their fishing licenses for three years, and one even forfeited his boat. I must admit, I’d prefer watching those walleye fishermen on the news, to see how they got away for so long with stuffing fish with lead weights.   

Truth is, changing morals and technologies have helped transform just about everything lately, including the sport of fishing. These days, for a few hundred – okay, a few thousand – okay, several thousand dollars -- you can buy a remarkable high-definition fishing television – one that scans water in all directions and then screams out the number and size of every member of every species trying to hide down there. Remember when Fezzik the giant in the movie, “Princess Bride” was told his way of fighting was to bash in a guy’s head with a rock?” Fezzik responded, “My way is not very sportsmanlike.”  I like that. Maybe all the moral guidance we anglers need is to ask ourselves whether what we’re doing is sportsmanlike.  
I really don’t want to start an argument about how, when or where to fish. Truth is, I’m a geezer who doesn’t like everything he sees taking place with our sport, and just wants to outwit a few fish of my own. And maybe brag about (and even catch) a few more than Tom or Wayne or Darrell. 

My “new” boat is 23 years old now, and I prefer my belly boat, slow but sneaky. And my ice fishing “fish finder” is an ancient Vexilar FL/8 flasher that just flashes, the same way it has for two decades. You can likely catch more fish with newer stuff; be my guest. I don’t keep 'em anyway. And my fishing buddies are getting pretty old and set in their ways too. If I hand them a questionable fishing report, they’ll likely forget the details anyway, before the next Friday morning breakfast.

Happy New Year everyone.

Happy holidays folks

 

Possibly the last open water fishing for awhile

  

The temperature was right at freezing Monday morning when Darrell Knight hit the Recycle Pond with his Fat Cat float tube. Half an hour later Bill arrived to find the Florida transplant had bounced and kicked his way about halfway from shore to open water. Ten minutes later, Bill launched to find the fishing about as cold as the water. The pair and late-arriving Wayne caught a few trout and one sheepish little catfish before calling it a day. Ice fishing is surely not too far in the future.

And our last? and most recent Holiday Photo entry was ... Vicki Tesar!

 That's one big bluegill on the end of little Vicki's pole, a fish she recalls yanking from a lake in Minnesota, where the darned things grow bigger for some reason. That's it! All the photos members have shared this holiday season. If you have another you'd like to see here on the blog, send it to billjohnp@gmail.com. Happy holidays everyone. See you 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Last mystery Holiday Photo in hand!

All right club members, not a one of you could figure out that the handsome young lad below was our own Dan Chouser, taken around 1943 when he was about 4 years old and fishing Lake Winona, IN.

Meanwhile, I think I wrote that Dan's was our last entry for the year, but I forgot I hadn't posted the entry below. Let me know who you think this cutie is, and I'll do the reveal in a reminder that the Annual Holiday Party is this Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 2 p.m.

Don't forget, there's an optional gift exchange. If you want to take part, pick out something thoughtful and fishy for around 9 or 10 bucks, wrap it up but don't put your name on. And don't eat too much before the meeting; we'll be having cookies and stuff. 

Thursday's Holiday Photo entry! And another reveal

 Alert reader and angler Bob Dierkes successfully identified this club member as our own Current President (And our First, back in 2003) Tom Miller. Knowing that, you can also guess this young fisherman ate every darned fish on this World War II era string. 

Meanwhile, below is Thursday's submission, the last unless someone else digs through their old albums. We'll give you a hint:  the now middle-aged youngster reports this was taken when they were about 4 years old and fishing at Lake Winona, Indiana. 

A new entry. Yesterday's revealed. And a confession.

 Darned if I can figure out how, but at least two grizzled club members (Jim Roode and Bob Dierkes) dentified the young angler on the right as legendary Oklahoma noodler Dennis Kelsey! I don't think I've ever seen a member of the Loveland Fishing Club quite so skinny, or carry so many big fish.

Meanwhile, a confession: recall that posting of Wisconsin transplant Rick Golz, who looked like a youthful twin of himself? Well, turns out that was Rick himself on the left, with his eldest son Jeff on the right. The real kid does look related...

And finally, below is Tuesday's posting in the LFC Holiday Photo contest. I'll give you a hint:  this was taken in the very early days of photography. 

Sunday's Holiday Young Angler photo solved; But here's another!

 

Okay, so a couple club members guessed yesterday's post had to be Barb Ding, and another chimed in with Vicki Tesar. Wrong. And wrong. That was the youthful, obviously successful angler Kathleen Barker, fishing in her younger days with a man who didn't go by the name "Danny." 

Meanwhile, if you can figure out the identity of today's Mystery Angler, you must be going more on fishing reputation than youthful looks. Our hero notes the "picture is from 1948. In those days, the best way of catching fish was hand fishing, or "noodling" as we called it; or with a trotline. Fishing gear was primitive - but we caught fish!" Hard to argue with these... 

Another Myster Holiday Photo! And previous post revealed!

 

 Okay, anyone who didn't guess that was Rick Golz and his Daddy in our most recent LFC Holiday Photo is probably very new to the club ... and ought to get a new eyeglass prescription. That young fisherman looks suspiciously like he was cloned. But  sharp-eyed and prompt Bob Dierkes was the first to point out the lad was Wisconsin native Rick. We do wonder why he was wearing a Twins cap.

Meanwhile,  below is our latest entry. You'll also have to guess which of the two anglers in this photo is the club member, and who's just the fishing buddy helping to hold up that nice mixed bag of fish. 

If you've not submitted an entry, send to  billjohnp@gmail.com. You may also be immortalized in our slide show at the Tuesday, Dec. 19th Holiday Party. 

Friday's Holiday Photo entry! And we tell you who was posted Thursday!

 All right, anglers, so far you've done kind of lousy job identifying younger versions of Loveland Fishing Club members. Thursday's entry (shown at right) was ... 6-year-old Bob Dierkes, hoisting an impressive string of suckers with the help of 5-year-old brother Jerry.

And if you can't figure out today's entry, you might want to take up a sport that requires better eyesight and judgment.

Shown below with his father and an impressive string of trout is Friday's Poster Child, shown in the days before strict daily limits. 

We've got a few more tucked away or promised, but if you haven't submitted an entry yet, send to me at billjohnp@gmail.com. Or bring to the Chilson Center Open House between noon and 2 p.m. Saturday, or the Club Holiday Party Tuesday, Dec. 19.

(And don't forget to bring a Secret Santa present for the gift exchange on the 19th. Should be around 9 or 10 bucks, new, and wrapped) (but don't put your name on it. Otherwise it's not much of a secret.)

We'll give you a hint: Once he's grown, this handsome lad sure
 looks like his Dad 

 

 

Yet another young angler! And we also name the star of yesterday's post

 Okay, we've had several guesses about the identity of Wednesday's Holiday Angler. Someone came up with Mark Orswell, another swore this had to be baby-faced Bob Dierkes. Nope. And Nope. It was none other than past President Fred Riehm. He says it was taken about 1970, fishing Clear Creek in the mountains of Verde Valley, Arizona. 

Meanwhile, we're still awaiting photos of other members demonstrating their angling skills at a young age. I naively asked for "pre-puberty" photos. Clever correspondent Leland Carpenter pointed out what should have been obvious to this 75-year-old fisherman:  most of our Moms and Dads didn't have a camera three-quarters of a century ago. So, just dig through your dustiest albums, and send us what you've got. 

Meanwhile, below is Thursday's entry in our Loveland Fishing Club Holiday Photo Contest. I'll generously give you a hint:  that's our club member on the left, age 6; and brother age 5.

Nice fishes. So who is it?

Okay, that was Doug Money in the photo in the article below. Now who's this?

 Okay, it's a bit blurry, but blame Mom or Dad, not the unnamed as yet Loveland Fishing Club member below. Those do look like fish in his hand. 

Okay, guess who this is, with all that thick black hair!

We'll let you guess awhile. Here's the latest donation of an old-time fishing photo from a Loveland Fishing Club stalwart. Taken, I'd guess, around 1970? I didn't know they made largemouth that big back then. 

Now, let's see yours.
 

Another older-time chips in! Holiday Photo contest heats up

 Time to go through your scrapbooks and come up fishing photos, the older the better! Here's a clean-shaven Darrell Knight, at right, shown with his uncle Wayne and a big old Southern catfish Darrell recalls weighting about 27 pounds. (Hey, who's going to question the size after about 30 years?) 

Back in the day, who was the club's finest angler? Holiday Contest begins now!

Your fishing club editor came across this rare photograph of a very young Bill Prater showing off a few of many fine fish he caught at Horseshoe Lake, IL, back in the day. It was taken around 1960 while staying with Grandma and Grandpa in their little cabin, back before I drove, worked for a living or started chasing lovely Linda Lee.

So! I just showed you mine; show me yours! If you have a pre-puberty photo of yourself fishing, share with the rest of us by sending a copy to:  billjohnp@gmail.com If you don't have a way to make a digital copy, bring what you have to the Tuesday, Dec. 19 holiday party.