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Wyoming2utah
09-13-2005, 05:12 PM
After sludging through the muck associated with almost any cow pasture, I carefully eased my tin and cat-gut liter out of my vest and lowered the cat-gut into the water before placing it back into the water-filled tin. I don't know why they call the liter cat-gut...if you asked me, it looked nothing like the innards of any feline I'd ever seen. Maybe it was made out of a cat's guts...I don't know. Anyhow, I always hated it when I hurried too quickly and didn't allow the cat-gut to soak long enough. So, I yanked the Granny Smith from my front pocket and horsed it down allowing its sweet insides to ease what little hunger I had. Then, I reopened the tin and checked the cat-gut...I was ready...

Ready to find my bait. I began to kick cow flops; first one, then another. In hopes of avoiding any softies, I kicked until I found what I was looking for--worms! Of course any angler knows that nightcrawlers can be found under moist cow flops and I was no different.

After tying a hook to my cat-gut liter, I cut a worm in half with my thumb and pointer finger mindless of the slime that dripped from my fingers and threaded my hook with half of the nightcrawler--no sense in wasting bait if the fishin' is good! I then carefully rigged my rod, checked my gear and crept slowly up to the bank careful not to spook any nearby fish. Confidently, I plopped my worm into the water. The current of the stream caught my hook and worm and pulled it underneath the bank. Brown trout love to hide under banks and I knew that if fishin' was going to be good, I would soon know.

The nighcrawler drifted slowly until it hesitated in the backwater of the corner pool near the bank and then I felt a fish strike. It tapped the line first barely disturbing the natural bend of my rod but quickly engulfed the nightcrawler completely hanging on the end of my cat-gut. That's when I let him have it! Kind of like whackin' a rat with a club, I jerked the rod upward setting the hook deep into the fish's stomach. Then, after hooking the fish, playing it, and watching it slide hesitantly but forcefully onto the bank, I smiled and placed my first brown of the day into my basket. I knew fishing would be good!

CycleFish
09-13-2005, 05:34 PM
Ahh,

Me thinks Mr. Stu see's trite words today.

You brothers are devils for sure!

Grizz
09-13-2005, 05:59 PM
Now this one brings back some serious memories. I cut my teeth on Stren & eagle claws, a lil' young to sling the cut-gut. The crawlers came from in-between the patties with a slow turn of the shovel. No sense getting to close to cow shit. Then the rod was strapped to the bicycle for the short ride down the hill to the Ogden river. Often times though, the crawlers were left home & I'd aquire the days bait scouring the river bottom for trout fly nymphs & rock rollers, occasionaly an aquatic red worm from the bank or live hoppers would fit the bill. The plunge pools & pocket water of the Ogden river were perfect for bobbing live bait & the browns were a sweet treat fer sure, dude.

Thanks Stu, for taking me back.

peace