My earliest memories of fishin’ involve a cane pole, a cork, and some grasshoppers caught prior to our excursion. I can remember packing up a little thermos of water and a couple of lawn chairs and heading to the tank (or sometimes referred to as a pond.) My dad was not an avid angler, but he enjoyed getting a line wet occasionally. I can remember catching catfish and a few bass in my Papaw’s tank. We would spend all afternoon in the heat, but it didn’t bother us so much, we were after the smelly prize. Since those precious days were forever implanted into my memories my fishin’ tactics have changed some. The location has changed to a ‘bay’. A boat (with a motor) now sits in the driveway. The pole is now graphite, and now…a reel replaces the swift jerk of the string hanging off the pole. A cork? That’s reserved for those times when you’ve fished all day and just want to sit for a spell. The bait, now involves another ‘micro’ fish or a cast net. The gear is much more complicated with GPS, wading boots, wading belts, fancy sunglasses made to block out specific glares, waterproof sunblock, special ‘fishin’ shirts with air pockets, red fishin’ line, and the list goes on and on. Fishin’ is work. But if you’ve ever headed out in a boat at the break of dawn when the water is a ‘slick as glass’ with the sea gulls flying overhead, and the sea breeze flowing through your hair…it’s like heaven on earth. It brings a certain calmness to your soul. And at the end of your day, you head home with either a cooler full of fish or big fish tales; you know the work that lies ahead with the cleaning of all the gear…you lick your salty lips and realize…it was all worth it.