Gone Fishing

Today after work I went with Hans and Nick to a nearby reservoir for some bass fishing. I haven't been fishing in I would say at least 6 years, and my fish-catching record is poor (at best), so I went in to the fishing expedition with low expectations. My first cast was pretty impressive. The line caught in the reel and the bait flew majestically about 3 feet forward before tangling in a bush. Take two. Unfortunately it ended in a similar result.

Eventually after 5 or 6 tries I relearned the art of casting and I was getting the bait out a good 40 or 50 feet into the water. Soon I even had a nibble! Just as I was getting confident, I reeled in my faux millipede I was using as bait only to find that a large collection of underwater foliage had collected on my hook. I quickly tore off the unwanted plants and re-cast. This was a good one, it sailed further than any of my previous throws. Soon I felt a firm tug on the line and I knew I was getting a bite. The reel started letting some line out so I held firm and quickly pulled the line back in. 5 minutes later I was immersed in the biggest fishing battle of my life, this thing must have been huge because it wouldn't budge out of the water. Finally with one last pull the lure emerged from the lake, bearing the full weight of the magnificent beauty pictured below.

That's right, it was just a big bunch of seaweedy crap. Nay fish. In the end, Hans caught three fish, Nick caught one, and I caught enough greenery to supply an elementary school salad bar. I still had a great time though, and got to enjoy another amazing South African sunset. Check it out:

We drove back home along the dirt road to Klipwal and on the way stopped at a local Zulu bar for some beer for the braai we were about to have. Hans kept one fish to eat for tomorrow evening, while tonight we had lamb on pork chops on the cards. So upon our return, we went to Nick's house, lit a large wooden fire, and began shooting drink cans with the air rifle. Eventually the lead pellets ran out and the meat was finished cooking, and that just about sums up my Monday evening.