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  Fishin' with Capt. Gus! ~ This is No Lie
March 29, 2009
You might have heard that, “All fishermen are liars, except you and me, and some times I’m not so sure about you!” Tall tales about the fish that got away, or the one that was so big it almost sunk the boat, have been told for centuries. The best epic battles between man, fish, and the elements, are revered by both fishermen and non-fishermen, and are passed down from parents to children.. Stories like “Moby Dick”, “Jaws”, “The Perfect Storm” and Hemingway’s “The Old Man and The Sea”, not only are great reading and movie watching, but provide fodder for fish stories of the future.
Since most fish tales are told by adults to adults, they aren’t prefaced by “once upon a time”. To get the listener’s attention, sometimes they begin with words like, “This is no lie” or “I know you won’t believe this, but …”
Some of the best fish tales are the ones that leave one wondering if the fish was really that big or if the saga actually occurred in the first place. Perhaps it’s better if the tale happened a long time ago in a faraway place without witnesses or pictures.
Bigger is better most of the time, but when it comes to a child’s first fish, small is ok. Years ago, my four year old son Toby, cast a plastic purple worm over a willow branch and said, “ I hooked a fish.” I thought he was hung in the tree, but the splashing of the 10” inch long Alabama spotted bass proved him right. The bass eventually freed itself and was landed by the proud young angler. Toby’s first bass was mounted on a plaque. Decades later it is still displayed in my house with the purple worm still in its mouth.
Sometimes it’s not only a fish that makes a story memorable. One afternoon Toby and I found ourselves wading a South Florida grass flat. To get to the next bonefish spot, we had to cross a deep slough. The water was almost up to his armpits, when I heard a yell, followed by a hissing noise. The commotion was the appearance of a very large sea turtle that decided to surface directly in front of Toby. It was so close that their eye balls almost touched. I don’t know who was more surprised, but within seconds the turtle swirled and disappeared below the surface, and Toby hustled back to the boat.
Tips from Capt. Gus:
Tomorrow’s fish tales begin today. Take a kid fishing!
Upcoming Events:
Thursday, April 9, 2009, Lighthouse Marine Service will conduct a refresher course entitled “Introduction to Safe Boating. The session begins at 6:30 p.m. at Gander Mountain, Exit 36, Mooresville, NC. The fee for the two hour class is $24.99. To pre-register, or for more information, call Capt. Scott Spivey 704 587 0325or visit www.lmservice.org.
Monday, April 13th 2009 - 7:00 PM - 08:00 PM - The Lake Norman Marine Commission will hold it’s monthly meeting at the East Lincoln Community Center, (Note Change in Location) 8160 Optimist Club Rd. - Denver, NC. For additional information call 704 564 6333 or visit www.lnmc.org
Saturday April 11, 2009, Light House Marine Services will offer a Boater Safety and PWC Class. Registration fee is $49.00 for the eight-hour session beginning at 9:00 a.m. The class will be at The Peninsula Yacht Club, in Cornelius, NC. To register, or for more information, call Capt. Scott Spivey – 704 587 0325 or visit www.lmservice.org.
The Lake Norman Striper Swipers will be holding its 28th Annual Spring Classic Tournament on April 18th & 19th, 2009. For more information visit www.lnss.us
A free seminar on “How to Select and Use a Rod and Reel” will be at Gander Mountain, Exit 36, at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 22, 2009. The seminar will be especially helpful for those deciding which outfit to buy for fishing the shoreline, the coast, or from a dock or boat.. I will conduct the two-hour session, along with custom rod builder Fran Park, from Good Fortune Custom Rods. This informative class is ideal for the family. For additional information, call 704 658 0822.
The Hot Spots of the Week:
Sight fishing for spawning bass is producing larger than normal stringers. Bass are in nooks and along sandy banks. Stripers are hitting live baits on shallow points, and crappie are near brush in water less than ten feet deep. The water level is currently 2.5' below full pond and dingy in places. Surface temperature is in the fifties.
Captain Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc. is licensed by the US Coast Guard, a member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, and is an outdoor columnist and a full time professional fishing guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, Fishin' With Gus! at www.FishingWithGus.com or call 704.617.6812.
For additional information e-mail Gus at Gus@LakeNorman.com
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