If you look up Bum in the dictionary, you will see the definition: “good-for-nothing: somebody regarded as irresponsible or worthless.” Oops, sorry, wrong definition. Skip down a few lines, there we are… “devotee; somebody who is excessively devoted to a particular activity or place.” Devotion is like obtaining a fresh rose in a garden. First, the rose lures you in with it’s vibrant bait that says “yes, I am the symbol of all that is romantic and seductive, and you must have me”. Then, as you reach for it, you try ever so strategically to avoid the sharp pricks on the stem. Dodging and ducking in and out of other stems, working to stay out of the red zone. But, one sudden pinch of the finger stuns you and you are compelled to grab hold of that obsessive flower and keep it in your hands. Ignoring your throbbing finger and blind to your threshold of affliction as all that clouds your judgment is the act of possession. All caution is thrown to the wind as your heart falls in its predestined pit of the despair and demise known as devotion. Oh, devotion, how cleverly cruel you are.
Lost on the Rez
But now you have the rose and it embeds itself so comfortably into your hand, familiarizing with your every move, thought, and desire. So that all you eat, drink, sleep, and breath is that devotion. That devotion. So, it is with our rods held high that we proudly carry the name as Riverbums. Destined to devote ourselves to the sport nay the ritual of hope, faith, and hook. Where every river carries a locket of our wade, where every fish carries a symbol of our cast, and where every witness carries an image of actionable true love. For we truly love to fish, to wade, to walk, and to cast where only our devotion holds us like the hand and the rose.
The only decent sized bass caught on Sunday- slow day due to dropped temps over night...
But, where there is devotion, sorrow is close behind. You can see it on the face of the old man standing in front of his wife’s coffin or in the eyes of an Olympian when she misses the hurdle. Call it loss, let down or just pure deny of destiny. Devotion comes with its pitfalls and it is not for the faint of heart. To be devoted is to be insane. For only the insane choose to dedicate their time (busy or free), their sleep, their social life, and blood/sweat/tears(not the band) to something that may only bring an increment of happiness once and a while. Mark our words, you better be sure, (and we mean blood test, background check, the whole nine yards) SURE, before you devote yourself to a person, place, or hobby. Cause, we guarantee you one thing, it’ll slowly kill ya. But hey, at least it’ll feel good as you go…
Fortunately, the Riverbums have had more than a few “once and a while” happy moments. Honestly, we’ve had a bunch. But, that’s because we devoted ourselves to fishing and not some woman who promises to try new things and watch baseball games with you when really she forces you to cut your hair and spend all Saturday night with very berry mojitos as you finish off all 9 seasons of Dawson’s Creek. Ok, seriously, you need to get out of that one! Save yourself man, save yourself. Yes, my friends, we live to fish and fish to live.
So, we devoted our weekend to reeling in the smallmouth bass on our favorite reservation in Northern Wisconsin where we used nothing but yellow twisty tails (2 inch tail) and round green jig heads. Yes the ************ river was more than generous. But first, a new segment of the blog that was suggested to us by many of our readers...
Angling T-Shirts
Style mustn't be spared while fishing and that's why we wear nothing but the most recent and high end class of fashions under our waders...
The Devil Fishes Too...
(One of AC's favorite bands, she got this T at her first ever punk rock Irish concert)
A Pure Geek Moment...
(Like what you see? Let us know and we will order you one too, for a discount!)
We stopped for gas and AC spotted this beauty of a truck that this guy parked right next to us. After she spent a good latter half of an hour goggling over it, she grabbed a business card and said "You will be hearing from me!"
AC's new love... A Vintage Logging Truck (40's or 50's)!She is determined to buy it for her Montana home. Of course after she buys that as well :)
A special dedication to the TreeBum, first person she thought of when AC saw this logging machine!
AC's first smallie of the day...and sure NOT to be her last
She just had to smile...
A wicked fight in the shallows
AC's quote when she climbed up, "Dad, look I'm on a boulder." Yes you are!
Perfect display of the net...at least a nine in the style section
Her 40th of the day...or so
Dad's black bass caught in another shallow pool
Catch and Release...That's how we rollcast (see what we did there?)
Oh the Squat and Net...works everytime
Caught 2 bass at once...Dad lifted his for the shot
A total of 80 small mouth bass, caught and released over a span of 10 hours. Sporadic white fluffy clouds and a high of 75 made this one of, if not the best day on the ************ river (sorry, would have to kill ya) this summer.
Ah, Devotion...
Just so we're clear, we never said we were sane, reasonable or always completely honest. But, you knew about the honest part already, after all, we are fishermen. And if there is one constant (besides devotion) amongst true fishermen, it is that we are liars. No, we're just kidding, we're not liars...or are we?
So whether you are devoted to fishing, your wife, or even gambling remember to stop every once and while and enjoy that allegiance of interest. Dwell in the obsession of dedication. And revel in your idolization. Because there isn't much time, life is running out and if you don't devote it to something, then grab a rod, follow us up current and we will have you devoted in no time!
Until next time, we'll see ya on the other side of the river...
Cast Away,
AC & Dad
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