Fishing for pleasure and more pleasure

When I was a kid, my Dad and Uncle Larry and some friends of Dad's used to take us fishing at Barnegat Bay in New Jersey. At the time I thought the bay was as big as the ocean and often worried about finding our way back. But Dad and his friends seemed to have that under control and we always made it back with our catch. We were out looking for blowfish but also caught some bluefish, sea-bass and weakfish as well. But I always remember the blowfish. Sometimes when aggravated they would blow up like a balloon. Naturally my brothers and I thought that was funny. The other thing I remember was the teeth. They reminded me of rabbits teeth like in the cartoons. I remember that sometimes we would have a hard time getting our hooks back because they would clamp down on them with those big teeth.

After I joined the Air Force I had the opportunity to fish for several kinds of fish from the shore, from bridges and from boats. I've caught bass, walleye, pike, catfish, crappie and some I don't remember the names of. I've also caught snakes, turtles, clams, shrimp and crabs, usually not on purpose, except for the shrimp and crabs, but that's another story.

However, the best times I ever had fishing were during the 11 1/2 years I spent in Panama, the one with the Canal, not Florida. During my time there I went out about twice a month with friends and/or family. Usually we went to Gatun Lake in the Panama Canal, but I've also fished other lakes and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as well.

Because I was in the Air Force, I had access to the Army recreation facilities at Fort Clayton. There I could rent a 14 foot aluminum boat for $10.00 for the entire weekend. It came with the motor, gas tank, paddles (just in case) and life vests (also just in case) and trailer. We would usually pick it up on Friday afternoon and return it Monday.

On Saturday morning about 5:00 am, everybody would meet at my house and we would hook up the trailer and drive to the public ramp at Gatun, about 10 miles. On the way we would stop at one of the several bus stops where kids were selling live minnows, twenty for a dollar. Sometimes you could get some extra for a sandwich or soda. We would get a couple hundred and then go on our way.

Once we arrived at the ramp there would be some young kids charging five dollars to get your boat into the water, put your gear in the boat and then see you off. The same kids would be there when you returned to get you out and it didn't cost anything extra. It was slow going getting out to the canal because of all the boat traffic and the vegetation. Once we were in the canal we could crank up the motor and head for our favorite spots, of which there were many.

On the way we would pass ships of all sizes traversing the canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice versa. Usually people on the decks would wave to us and naturally we would wave back. We had to be careful of the wake coming from the ships. Sometimes if you were passing a ship, especially in a narrow part of the canal, the waves could be pretty big.

Usually we would go to the furthest favorite spot first and then work our way in during the day. A lot of the other parties seemed to prefer it the other way, that is, start close and then work their way out. Personally, I liked the boat ride early in the morning and was usually anxious to get on shore by the end of the day.

Anyway, we would find our spot and anchor in. What we were after were peacock bass or Sergento, sergeant in Spanish, because of the stripes. It was basically a big mouth bass. Now I have to tell you, in Panama you do not need a license to fish and there are no limits. As you can imagine being bordered by two oceans, seafood is plentiful in Panama and there are markets everywhere. Anyway, when we went fishing in the Panama Canal or Arenosa Lake we would usually have four people in the boat and would fish for about 6-8 hours. During that time we would catch 200 or more keepers and no, they don't just jump in the boat. They were simply so plentiful, that almost anywhere you dropped a line, you could catch something. The best thing about it is that every one we caught gave us a run for our money.

When we were done for the day we would come back into the dock where the same young man who saw us off, would now get us unloaded again. He would also fillet our catch for five cents a piece and maybe a soda or two. So all in all you couldn't have a better day. With the kids there to help you in and out and fillet the fish, all you had to do was catch fish and who wouldn't enjoy that? Like I said, some friends and I would usually go out about twice a month. The reason we didn't go out more is that our freezers could not hold all the fillets. I have numerous stories I could tell about my fishing trips, like the time a friend and I lost our way during a storm, but I'll save those for another time.

If you like fishing or know someone who does, then I have a couple of sites you will want to visit. You can learn more about Salmon Fishing and Cat fishing by going to my sites at www.Salmon.TellMeAboutThat.com and www.Catfishing.TellMeAboutThat.com. Well, enjoy yourself and then go to my blog at www.TellMeAboutThat.com and leave a comment to let me know how the trip turned out.

Tom Stabler is a retired Air Force logistics specialist. He has traveled extensively, mostly in the Middle East and Central America. During his travels he gained experience and insight into a variety of subjects. He uses his articles to talk about his life experiences as well as promote his blog and 94 websites at www.TellMeAboutThat.com. He currently lives in South Carolina with His wife of 32 years.

By TOM STABLER