Matt and I arrived at The Sporting Life 8:34 a.m., and I bought a dozen shiners. On the way over to the reservoir we checked on Zach Merchant's bait shop, which I had heard closed. It has closed. A minute after we parked in Lot 2, Fred Matero drove in.
Fred had told me he wanted to talk to Matt about the Higgs boson, the so-called God Particle. Matt, a junior at Boston University, is funded by that school to create algorithms to interpret experimental data about that particle. They did most of their talking when I disappeared from Ranger Cove towards the main launch, to an area of the reservoir I knew would be exposed, although even with the water level as low as it is, I felt surprised at how extensively exposed. I returned to them after 45 minutes of walking and shooting photographs.
I also felt pleasantly surprised at how well I met nature on its own terms. I get jaded, not only by my job, but by writing every night and keeping up with chores. If an author tells you it's easy to write a book, I suggest you question the quality of the work. But I do find it very enjoyable. To the degree that I often feel like I want to do nothing else.
But out there at Round Valley today, I was reminded that being in nature is a very different experience. I was reminded of the same, to lesser degree, when I fished with Jesse Sullivan recently, but I had forgotten about it.
I got the news a couple of weeks ago that lake trout were getting caught, so that's why I came with the shiners, along with high hopes that Matt would catch his first. I phoned Fred and asked if he wanted any, when Matt and I arrived at The Sporting Life, but he preferred his mealworms, marshmallows, and Power Bait.
Nine lines out, none took a hit in fives hours of fishing. But we did see a small trout caught across from us.
Fred and Matt
https://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2016/02/shiners-for-lake-trout-why-not-power.html
I would have been very disappointed if there wasn't a picture of Fred. Also, what were Andy and Opie fishing for in Mayberry?
ReplyDeleteCats and Carp
ReplyDeleteThat's what I figured, just like Ceephus Pitts!
ReplyDeleteNow I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even quite know who's who: The second Anonymous is surely Fred.
ReplyDeleteThere's a guy at work who looks exactly like Opie. He's the guy who told me he has an IQ of 178.
ReplyDeleteMine's only 131. In a jocular exchange tonight, I told him mine seems higher than his. He immediately shot me down, but I don't know if he's bullshitting or not. They say Einstein's was 160, and that is sky high. I've heard Einstein was a C student in high school. This guy was, too, he says, and that obviously does happen with a few sky-high IQ guys. But how in hell's name am I working in a kitchen beside a guy that smart?
ReplyDeleteIt definitely was Fred, and it's an old joke for us going back to high school! Sometimes smarties have a lack of common sense. To have both is a potent combination. Luckily, I don't have to worry, since I'm not Einstein!
ReplyDelete