Even priests take shorts vacations occasionally and so it is with me. I was asked by a parishioner, David Leslie, to join him for a day of fishing. We were joined by my predecessor here at Christ Church, Father Dennis Kezar. We meet in nearby Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island to go fishing with Captain Todd Romine.
If you have followed my blog, you may know that I am primarily a fly fisherman. I grew up fishing for trout in the Midwest and eventually moved to Tennessee where I focused on fishing the Smoky Mountains with dry flies for native trout. I was a little like the author, Norman MacLean, who wrote the following in his book A River Runs Through It:
In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.
I haven’t fished with bait for thirty years. However, this is Florida and this is a guide who specializes in bait fishing so who am I to be particular. Plus, I thought it might be fun to broaden my horizons. Talking with the Captain prior to the arrival of my host, David, and my fellow priest, Dennis, I realized this would be a fun learning experience. Hey, I like catching fish.
The very first thing we had to do was catch our bait. This was expertly managed by our Captain with two tosses of his cast-net. I believe Saint Peter would have been impressed. Captain Todd pulled in what appeared to be about a thousand whitebait minnows. At the time, I couldn’t imagine how we would ever use them. That’s why he is the guide and I’m the priest.
To make a long story short, we hammered the redfish. We must have caught around 50 or more. I need to be clear that we kept only four for the boat. Every fish, except those four, was hooked in the corner of the mouth and released unharmed due to a fancy hook called a circle hook. Very slick, very cool.
When the redfish thinned out we caught seatrout, grouper and other sundry fish. The whole day was a wonderful time. David and Dennis certainly out fished me but I had a great time nonetheless. I will have to do this again. Remember Jesus hung out with fishermen so why shouldn’t I? Grace and peace.
If you have followed my blog, you may know that I am primarily a fly fisherman. I grew up fishing for trout in the Midwest and eventually moved to Tennessee where I focused on fishing the Smoky Mountains with dry flies for native trout. I was a little like the author, Norman MacLean, who wrote the following in his book A River Runs Through It:
In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.
I haven’t fished with bait for thirty years. However, this is Florida and this is a guide who specializes in bait fishing so who am I to be particular. Plus, I thought it might be fun to broaden my horizons. Talking with the Captain prior to the arrival of my host, David, and my fellow priest, Dennis, I realized this would be a fun learning experience. Hey, I like catching fish.
The very first thing we had to do was catch our bait. This was expertly managed by our Captain with two tosses of his cast-net. I believe Saint Peter would have been impressed. Captain Todd pulled in what appeared to be about a thousand whitebait minnows. At the time, I couldn’t imagine how we would ever use them. That’s why he is the guide and I’m the priest.
To make a long story short, we hammered the redfish. We must have caught around 50 or more. I need to be clear that we kept only four for the boat. Every fish, except those four, was hooked in the corner of the mouth and released unharmed due to a fancy hook called a circle hook. Very slick, very cool.
When the redfish thinned out we caught seatrout, grouper and other sundry fish. The whole day was a wonderful time. David and Dennis certainly out fished me but I had a great time nonetheless. I will have to do this again. Remember Jesus hung out with fishermen so why shouldn’t I? Grace and peace.
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