Gone Fishin'

Yesterday Pip and I went fishing. I used to fish a lot when I was a kid, but it's been a long time since I've done any angling. We first visited the Shotover river, hiking along its banks and trying a few different pools, but after about an hour of fruitless attempts we decided to go somewhere else. We then drove over to the Kawarau river, about 10 minutes away. I had just gotten my line and lure in order and was about to throw my first cast when I heard Pip hollering out. She'd landed a fish on her third cast. I got there just as Pip pulled the fish to shore; it was a beautiful rainbow trout, probably about two and a half pounds in weight. There was a bit of a struggle to get the hook out, then the fish was returned to the water.


I walked back to my spot on a rocky sandbar and commenced the hunt. Cast after cast, despite being perfectly placed and expertly reeled in, produced no results. Then suddenly something caught the line. I tugged, I reeled, I fought valiantly... then it became apparent that my lure was stuck on a rock. After considerable effort I managed to free the hook and reel the line in. Amazingly, I had caught something after all: someone else's old fishing lure.


I would argue that my catch required significantly more luck and skill than Pip's. I mean, what are the chances that I would hook a small, stationary object and free it from its rocky tomb? People who go fishing catch fish all the time. Few people catch lures.