Montemayor: A fishing story

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Kansas had just won its first-round game when we — my father, brother and I — began to navigate the jagged bank of Clinton Lake’s dam.

Hopes of catching spawning walleye invited us to cast our bait into the water.

No luck. In fact, I had caught a cold just days before, so even that old axiom was out the window.

The wind, not as biblical as Monday’s offering, was enough to upset my line, creating a nasty backlash to end the day. To be more accurate, relative inexperience with open-faced fishing reels and a lengthy hiatus from fishing may have played a small role in my folly and frustration.

In place of success was a perspective of the time off the water — time that grows with age and obligations. Textbooks, keyboards and money occupy increasing amounts of our time. Diversions sometimes include house parties, hurried jogs and maybe a trip to a game or two.

Despite my lures being ignored and my mishandling of fishing equipment, the freedom of shutting it all down was welcome. With the University, East Lawrence and workplaces out of sight, all to be seen was miles of choppy water. Out there was a fish that would take the bait. Maybe.

Roy Williams once said he didn’t give a s--- about North Carolina. While at the lake, neither did I. Honestly. Quality time with family — another element growing in relation with the passage of time — took precedence over bracketology. That and I wanted a walleye.

The walleye, which is from the perch family, is among the many fish of Clinton Lake. It is among the best-tasting fish as well, but upon first sight its distinctive features stand out. Its eyes sport a haunting glow like something out of a science fiction. Its thick body, colored yellow, brown and black, is crowned by a spiny dorsal fin that means business.

April, May and early June are the prime months for hooking these fish. Fishingnotes.com says they are coming off the spawn now and will be aggressively feeding in the months ahead. The key is to beat the other fisherman to the walleye. If you are too early or simply unsuccessful — like we were — Culvers offers a consolation prize with its fried walleye basket.

There are plenty of other fine fish in that lake. Crappie, for instance, will soon be ready to be caught en masse and later fried or smoked to perfection.

And so while our dollar gets us little more than toilet tissue these days, a few bucks spent on a license and a few supplies make for a cost-efficient diversion.

Fishing offers one more thing we could all use: Hope. Hope that tomorrow things will be better. You may have no luck, but there’s always tomorrow.

— — Edited by Melissa Johnson

Fishing Report

This week's fishing report from Clinton Lake.

/news/2009/sep/04/Fishing/

Fishing a fulfilling, inexpensive hobby

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Clinton lake fishing report

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Area fishing report

Levels for Clinton Lake, Mary's Lake, and Pat Dawson-Billings Lake.

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Clinton Lake fishing report

Fishing conditions from Clinton Reservoir.

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Crappies abundant in lake

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Fishing report

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Trot for trout in Mo.

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Montemayor: A fishing story

Good story! Hmm this article took me back because I honestly have never even thought of smoking crappie. Thanks. Now go meet some single anglers at www.cupidfish.com>

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