We are quickly sailing into summer as we approach the official first day of summer, only weeks away! With the visions of summer, my mind travels back to growing up on the fresh water lake where I did plenty of swimming and fishing!
Although I enjoyed swimming far more than fishing, it was not uncommon to see me casting my little Zebco fishing reel to see what I might catch. Some of the more common fish in the lake where I grew up were bluegill, bass and catfish.
Bluegill was the most plentiful, but the large bass were the ones we were aiming to catch. I suppose one reason the bass were hard to catch was due to the sheer numbers of bluegill. Odds were that we would catch those rather than the bass.
My largest catch from our lake-front home was a catfish, which I caught when I was around 12 years of age. In fact I caught the same catfish twice!
One night I cast my line out from the bulkhead and I caught the clever catfish. Unfortunately, just as the catfish neared the top of the bulkhead, the line broke off just inside his mouth, and he swam off like a rocket!
Figuring I just missed out on the largest catch for me as a kid, I returned to the house disappointed. With greater determination to catch a big one, my line was repaired by my father with a stronger leader, and it was ready for another day of fishing.
The next evening I returned to fishing at the same time to give it a second shot at catching a big one!
Suddenly, a large catfish made a grand entrance as he jumped up out of the water just before he then took my bait! I reeled him in happily, to discover he was a meaty 13" fish!
Only problem though was the fish was so darn ugly I couldn't envision myself taking it off the line - lol! I hollered for my father who came running and he took the flopping fish off the line for me.
My Dad was quite proud of my catch, and we took the fish up to prepare it for dinner, and that in fact was the first time I ever ate catfish! My father did a great job with preparing and filleting the fish.
Much to our surprise there in it's belly was my line that snapped off the night before! It must have been his turf because I had caught him again, but this time the fish was not as clever as I was! Another funny memory about that fist was that it was so ugly my mother refused to cook it, or eat it - so my father took over from there. It was very tasty, and my father and I had filled ourselves up with the tender catfish!
As we're sailing into summer be sure to grab your pole and go after the catch for dinner, and then fillet your fish for good eating! Bon appetite!
Thursday
Sailing in the San Juan Islands
It's time to gear up for your summer vacations, which hopefully you've already planned ahead of time, and within your vacation budget. The most popular areas to vacation will already be booked up. One of the most beautiful places to vacation in the United States is not far from my neck of the woods. The San Juan Islands are very beautiful and especially for a place to sail.
Perhaps one of the best ways to determine where you would like to go for vacation is to look at the various web cams online. If you would like to snoop at the San Juan Islands, you can be there in a flash by viewing their various web cams! From there you can make many plans for a sailing vacation.
If you aren't looking for a sailing vacation in the San Juan Islands, there's many other places to go by way of web cams. It's fun to do, and the web cams essentially allow you to travel the world before you go!
Perhaps one of the best ways to determine where you would like to go for vacation is to look at the various web cams online. If you would like to snoop at the San Juan Islands, you can be there in a flash by viewing their various web cams! From there you can make many plans for a sailing vacation.
If you aren't looking for a sailing vacation in the San Juan Islands, there's many other places to go by way of web cams. It's fun to do, and the web cams essentially allow you to travel the world before you go!
Fishing for Trouble
Those who love water sports also generally love aquariums and fish. I couldn't resist sharing this silly fact in regards to fish bowls, especially since I'm in the Pacific Northwest.
In Washington state it's illegal to carry a fish bowl on a bus! Now is that a stupid law, or what!
Better stick to sailing. Hmm, what if someone put a small toy sailboat inside a fishbowl with water and then got onto a bus? Could it be argued that it would then be a sailing bowl rather than a fish bowl?
In Washington state it's illegal to carry a fish bowl on a bus! Now is that a stupid law, or what!
Better stick to sailing. Hmm, what if someone put a small toy sailboat inside a fishbowl with water and then got onto a bus? Could it be argued that it would then be a sailing bowl rather than a fish bowl?
Friday
My Ship Came In!
LOL! Just kidding, but I thought it would make an interesting topic to ponder for the day. What exactly does it mean to you when you hear the term, "My ship came in"? Generally speaking in our society it refers to someone with a recent financial gain or windfall, new job or career etc.
Now to a pirate it could mean the next ship they would claim as their own plunder had just come ashore. What does it mean to you when you hear the old saying, "My ship came in!", or does it really mean anything at all to you?
Now to a pirate it could mean the next ship they would claim as their own plunder had just come ashore. What does it mean to you when you hear the old saying, "My ship came in!", or does it really mean anything at all to you?
Wednesday
International Sailing Vacations
Are you ready to take the sailing vacation of your dreams? Planning to go abroad to sail off to waterfront properties to pamper your senses? There are many beautiful places in the world to provide one with wonderful places to take a sailing vacation or to choose for your permanent residence.
As waterfront property here in the US has increasingly become more expensive, you may find a place of your dreams within your budget if you seek a life abroad. Overseas real estate just may be one terrific resource for you to gain some insight and direction for a place to suit your fancy. Property abroad presents unique opportunities, but it also presents unique challenges.
Imagine though the possibilities for your sailing dreams to come true in places like Belize, or perhaps you would rather take a permanent sailing vacation from a beach in Brisbane, Australia! Either way, they both sound good to me in comparison to the cold waters of the Puget Sound near my home.
I enjoyed the website I just shared with you, but it would really be nice if they had larger photo's of some of those destinations. Oh well, off I go dreaming about a place to sail to with warmer waters! Bon voyage!
As waterfront property here in the US has increasingly become more expensive, you may find a place of your dreams within your budget if you seek a life abroad. Overseas real estate just may be one terrific resource for you to gain some insight and direction for a place to suit your fancy. Property abroad presents unique opportunities, but it also presents unique challenges.
Imagine though the possibilities for your sailing dreams to come true in places like Belize, or perhaps you would rather take a permanent sailing vacation from a beach in Brisbane, Australia! Either way, they both sound good to me in comparison to the cold waters of the Puget Sound near my home.
I enjoyed the website I just shared with you, but it would really be nice if they had larger photo's of some of those destinations. Oh well, off I go dreaming about a place to sail to with warmer waters! Bon voyage!
Friday
Going Green to Sail in Blue Waters
As we dream of sailing vacations in bright blue waters we all need to remember to do our part to keep the deep seas and other waterways clean. Nothing is worse than destroying our natural resources, which in turn provide us with necessary recreation and relaxation. There's always various concerted efforts to focus on keeping our waterways clean, but one method you might want to read up on is Going Green! Each of us doing a little, adds up to make a big difference!
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