Seining Fish...

When I was a child, seining the pond was a annual event as the water grew low from the dry weather.  Low water, less oxygen...removing some fish assured the survival of the whole.

Our seine was about fifteen feet long with weights on the bottom and two poles at each end.  One person stood on the bank as the other waded out, set the seine and began to walk to the bank with the net on the bottom.  I was always the lucky one, red clay mud sucked at my feet and caused me to stumble but I held my pole straight and steady as I walked that seine to the bank.

A large bass kept jumping the net and we walked the seine again and again. We caught several catfish, some large perch and some small bass, plenty for supper and some for the freezer.

I was soaked from head to toe, mud all over me but we tried one more time. During the last sweep, there was no jumping fish, maybe he was worn out!  There was a chance, a small chance, Big Bass was in the net.

Struggling through the mud at the edge, I fell but spotted the giant bass flopping to reenter the deeper water.  No way was he escaping this time!

I dived toward the bass in the shallow, covering him with my body until I could get a good grip.  The fins stuck my stomach as I worked to get a hold.

Finally, triumphantly, I stand, totally mud-covered with a thumb in his gills and hold him high above my head while whooping at the top of my voice!

The sun shined bright as Daddy smiled.