Monday, October 8, 2012

It's Not You, Honey. It's Me.


Meetup location sounds good. I'll give you a call when I leave Harry's with the boat. I plan to bring a spinning rod along with my fly rod. I've been catching some bass on swim baits on the pond here at Five Points. So feel free to bring a spinning rod if you want.

It took some digging, but I found it. Tucked into the backmost corner of the deepest reaches of the basement. Hidden behind a flaccid float tube and a roll of plastic deer fencing. Draped in cobwebs and dust. The forgotten stick. My old 5’9” Shimano BW-2593 Bull Whip Graphite Fightin’ Rod. Medium Bass/Walleye Special Action. Quantum Escalade loaded with Fire Line. Fat black jitterbug, still strung from some midnight foray to the pond down the hill, years past.

I was young and foolish then.

But we ended up using the darn things. A surprisingly stiff breeze chopped the lake. A blast from the north, forcing us to cast a blast from the past.

I remembered what it’s like to send a weighty lure sixty yards with a flick of the wrist. No false cast. No double haul. Never mind that a decent hookset from that distance is unlikely. It was startling just to watch it fly.

Jitterin' the bug. Walkin' the Zara pooch. Slingin' spinnerbaits. Deep-divin' big-lipped cranks. Bass moves I’d almost forgotten.

But after a few hours the wind dropped and the guilt moved in. This dalliance with the old girlfriend seemed cheap and tawdry. I’d taken easy comfort with another when the times got tough. I’d backslid.

I was ashamed.

So I put down the short whip and tenderly pulled from the gunnels my sweetness, my steadfast 6wt, strung and ready to go. Long elegance and light as an angel's kiss. I stripped a little line, gave it a quick roll, and sent the deer hair flying…

…twenty feet.

It felt like shit.

20 comments:

Fontinalis Rising said...

Ah, reminds me of some old girlfriends of mine, though I got rid of most of mine. I do miss Zara though.

Mike Sepelak said...

You and Zara too, Jason? She's such a floozy.

Feather Chucker said...

hehe it is something to cast something heavy with a spinning rod after using a fly rod for years. I remember last year when I did it I almost couldn't believe how far the spinnerbait went. I almost just wanted to see how far I could cast and the fishing was secondary. "Almost."

Anonymous said...

Zara ain't no stranger to me either.

-Clif

Mike Sepelak said...

It really is a bit of a rush, isn't it Kevin.

And Clif, I'm not the least bit surprised. The hussy.

Jay said...

Guilty here too.
Great post.

Mike Sepelak said...

Thanks Jay, for the confession and the compliment. I guess men are just pigs.

Anonymous said...

I resemble that remark! However, I am once again, finding my way with the long rod.

Mike Sepelak said...

I hear ya, Mel. Glad you're back. Rest assured that this was a one-night-stand on my part as well. Nothing will make me put the long rod away.

Anonymous said...

Ha, that's funny!! I understand. Anytime I have my girls along its blue gill and crappie with mini jigs!

Mike Sepelak said...

The perfect application, Seth. I'll bet they're a blast.

MacLoosh said...

Another excellent post!

However, I do feel obligated to point out that you used Flaccid and Tube in the same sentence.

Add in a reference to beer and your Google search hits should be all over the board! :)

Mike Sepelak said...

Beer? Did someone say beer?

Steve Zakur said...

Yeah, sometimes I go back to the old flame. The trick is, don't try and date them on the same night. The comparison is never favorable and you do feel tawdry. That said, I do have a story about nymphing with Powerbait....

Mike Sepelak said...

The trick is, don't try and date them on the same night.

And there you have it. Steve, that's genius.

Mike Sepelak said...

Thanks for the support, Alex. Bro' code and all that. Still getting the silent treatment from the 6wt, though.

Unknown said...

Fly rods, like women, can get all moody and make up things in their head and intent where there is none. Don't worry, she will come around.

If she doesn't, just but a fresh new one. That'll show her.

Mike Sepelak said...

Playin' with fire, son. Playin' with fire.

Unknown said...

You ain't playin' with fire if you ain't got no matches, son!

Yeah. It's like that.

Mike Sepelak said...

It sure is. Just like that. :-)