--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Bob Bartop" <bobbartop@...> wrote: Frank, you know I respect you, I respect your intellect and your mathematical ability. But you are quite wrong about one thing.
Fishing SUCKS!
FK Reply:
Not if you go with a Playboy Playmate & some 15 year old wine:)
My best fishing story (It is Micky Crimm-ish) (TRUE)
I had just gotten off work (Restaurant Photographer) at Harvey's in Lake Tahoe and swung by my friend Gunnar's house for drinks, at 3:30 am in the morning he says, "Let's go down to the river and catch some breakfast." Not having any good arguments as to why this was impossible, we headed out the back door and a short 15 minute hike later had our lines and feet in the South Truckee (near Myers).
30 min, 3 bears, and no fish later he suggested we try a small lake he knew that was near by.
We got there, cast in our lines and before I could open another beer got a hit. I reeled in a nice rainbow trout. To my amazement, Mr. Gunnderson also had himself a nice trout, slightly larger than mine. Being a full blooded Viking from Iceland most of Gunnar was "slightly larger than mine" (taller, longer hair, bigger chest, etc...) Determined not to let him beat me in yet another category, I cast back in a before you could say, "Viking envy" I had a huge 10 pounder on the line. Arrgh, but so did Gunnar???
What on earth was going on? In the next ten min we both caught another 5 fish and still hadn't cracked a beer. Fishing, or so I had thought, was primarily about drinking and far less about catching fish. Somewhere along the forest path I must have missed the Twilight Zone sign clearly stating that we were now the gods of fishing. Egos were expanding.
Up walks a park ranger. He looks as if he's about to say something, but hasn't quite figured out what it is or how to say it. We are expecting a request for fishing licenses and begin digging them out. To our surprise the question he asks is:
"You boys eight years old?"
A little taken aback we shyly answer, "Uh no".
He says, "You know we just stocked this lake with FOUR THOUSAND STARVING TROUT for the junior fishing championship tomorrow morning?"
Apparently, the look on our faces must have told the whole story, because he did not even wait for a reply. He was sure we were guilty, but our crime was clearly ignorance, and I imagine he figured correctly that our embarrassment was punishment enough. He turned around and walked off quickly, a few moments later we heard laughter from behind the trees. Apparently he just couldn't hold it in any longer.
We put back the still living fish, packed up, and quite literally went home with our tails between our legs, egos deflated with the words "FOUR THOUSAND STARVING TROUT" ringing in our heads.
Well at least I think we would have given the eight year olds a run for their money, as long as it wasn't a drinking contest.
~FK
