First-time fishing

Published in The Post-Star (G1)
5/3/07

The last time I was anywhere near a fishing pole, I threw a tantrum.

I cried and staged a PETA-worthy protest as my father smacked a writhing, gasping rainbow trout down on the dock during a family vacation to Colorado.

"Put it back! Put it back! It's dying!" I screamed.

"Well, you didn't want to eat it alive, did you?" he asked with infuriating logic.

It smelled delicious at the dinner table that night, but I refused to eat even a bite of the "poor little fish." Well, except the bite I snuck from my brother's plate when he wasn't looking. Darn. It did taste as good as it smelled.

About 17 years later, I decided it was time to confront my childish squeamishness. I've always enjoyed eating fish -- why shouldn't I enjoy catching them? Besides, people who fish talk about it like it's some kind of religion.

I wanted to be hooked, too.

CE Skidmore and I headed north on Monday for an afternoon of fishing with Michael West, whose family runs The Crossroads store in Chestertown. After buying a license, a basic rod and reel combo, and a cup of live "dilly" worms, we set off for Mill Creek, a few miles up the road in Wevertown.

I started by getting hooked a bit too literally, jabbing my own fingers several times as I struggled to work the barb through the body of a wriggling worm. I thought I was being terribly mature, but looking back at the pictures, I see I actually looked more like a 5-year-old concentrating fiercely on learning to tie her shoes.

West, a friendly outdoorsman who looks like an L.L. Bean model, must deal with a lot of first-time fishers. He didn't seem at all bothered by my basic lack of hand-eye coordination when it came to tying the hook onto the line. He didn't snicker when I closed my eyes as I ripped a worm in half. And he was thoughtful enough to point out that I should only remove my index finger -- not both hands -- from the pole when I cast it into the river. (Seriously, that's something I can see myself doing.)

I wasn't very good at aiming into the spots he suggested, but I was thrilled every time I simply managed to land the hook in the river. And on a sunny spring day like that, it was easy to fall in love with fishing.

West told us it was going to be tricky to catch anything, since the water was running so high and fast, but he was wrong. We caught a lot of things: the river bottom, some rocks and leaves, several tree branches, and even each others' lines. No fish, though.

No tantrums, either, on the plus side.

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GEARING UP:
Fishing doesn't have to be an expensive hobby; first-timers can get started for under $50. You'll need:
-- A license, unless you are under 16 years old. A one-week license for New York residents costs $12, but it's a better deal to get the whole season for $19. Senior citizens cost just $5.
-- A basic rod and reel with line, $20 and up
-- Hooks, $1 and up
-- Sinkers or split-shot (non-lead metals), $1 and up
-- Bait, such as live worms (type depends on fish)
-- A cooler, or at least a plastic bag, in case you catch something
-- Pliers or a pocketknife to cut tangled line and remove hooks


WHAT'S IN SEASON:
-- Trout, landlocked salmon, kokanee, shad, sunfish, American eel, lake whitefish, crappie, striped bass, black bass (catch and release only until June 15). Opening May 5: walleye, northern pike, pickerel and tiger muskellunge.


LOGGING ON: More information on freshwater fishing is available from the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/fish/