Shimano reel filled with 14 pound trilene.
St. Croix rod, medium heavy, backbone is mean.
bullet weight slid on the line after run through guides.
teflon coated truturn hook tied on with palomar, ready for the ride.
watermelon lizard on and ready to cast.
flick of the wrist and the lure flies far and fast

Lands on the bank, two inches from the water
crawl it down the side of an old log, hollow.
pulse the rod tip up and down while lifting.
let the lure drop back down, trolling motor keeps us from driftng.
reel up the slack do it again all the way to the boat.
do it again, like dad taught me rote.

We troll on down the bank looking for a likely place
the boat dock up ahead is usually an ace
ease on up, perfect flip under and all the way back
let sink and sit, slowly reel up slack

Bump, then thump, then **** and run
snap the rod tip way up high and fish on.
rod tip down, fish running under dock
drag schreeching, pull back lines not moving just like its locked

Fish jumps on other side, has me wrapped around a piling.
change angles give it a pop, nothing, know the metal is filing
down the line. Please don't break, pop it once again.
the line begins to move and slide, pulled by power of fin.

The fights back on, in open water now
which, fish or angler will be made to cow.
fish goes deep, uh oh nothing but slack.
reel fast now, got to get her back.
fish running right at boat, trying a different tact.

Not the right one, I catch back up and **** once more
the she is, grab the net, worn out from the chore.
off the hook and on the scale, in the live well dunk her.
pull out the phone, TPWD calling share a lunker.

15 pounder in the well headed to the marina
parks and wildlife said that's where to meet her.
off to the Texas fisheries center in Athens to spawn.
back at home few days later relaxing on my lawn.

Package arrives  fiberglass replica  of my fish
awaiting word, if I can live release her, is my wish.
wish granted a few days later, back out in the lake
she tail walks and swims off while cutting a graceful wake.

Boat skims across low rollers
in the summer breezes flow
headed to a fishing spot
underneath a white lights glow

Its dark and there is no moon
are the fish ready to bite
the first cast will tell the tale
I'll see when the line goes tight

Glowing white Rattle-trap tied
to my 14 pound test line
cast the bait into the light
the line spools off in its familiar wine

Reeling in I can feel the baits vibration
I detect a bump, thump and bite
rip the rod upwards, set the hook
the rod bends downward under its fight

Hear the wind hum off the line
like a taut guitar string
I fight and reel the fish in
it is the nature of the thing

Silver white with broken stripes
shiny scales, and sharp dorsal spines
hopefully one of many
on this night that I will find

Another cast up to the dock
and another awesome bite
It looks like its going to be
one heck of a fishing night

300 hundred fish caught
off of twenty lighted docks
ready to get some sleep,
head home, throttle to its stops

Casting chicken liver off the levee
tap and pull, rod starts bouncing
set the hook, and reel it in
all its fins and tail a'flouncing.

Costa sunglasses cut the glare
of the green rippled lake light,
three baited lines in the water,
patience, ready for another bite.

Waiting, waiting in the sun
as mosquitos buzz around me,
a slight breeze blowing from the west
they say its when the fish bite best.

Water snakes, colored orange and black
float upon cattail rafts, soaking heat,
ignore the splashing of my cast,
one of my lines goes suddenly slack.

**** the rod, the fight is on!
Catfish tugging toward the bottom,
he so enjoyed my ****** bait,
my fillet knife, though is his fate.

Channel, blue or flathead
whatever fish will try;
will be swiftly cleaned
and served deep fried.

Filleted and battered thick with beer
the oil is bubbling and smoking hot,
hear the sizzle as they fry up crisp,
fill my plate straight from the ***.

I feel the need,
the need to cast and wind;
for the fish to feed,
and bite upon my line.

From the tiniest of perch,
to biggest largemouth bass;
as long as my line will lurch,
each time I make a cast.

Crank baits, worms or spinners,
I really just don't care;
as long as I catch dinner,
and a few more for fun to spare.

Casting lines
dropping jigs
some of them tipped with pig

Chicken liver
on the river
channel, Blues or yellow cats

Texas Rig
rattle Trap
pull out that hot spot map

Spinner baits
attracting blades
casting lures in the shade

Spin cast
snoopy pole
custom rod, medium fast

Crappie and largemouth
catfishing in the south
lakes or rivers, even streams
sometimes of the gulf we dream

Finger mullet on the line
waiting on the drag to whine
sharks or rays, even trout,
man that what it's all about

Whiting or croaker
let's go catch some Redfish
or salmon for the smoker

Northern pike and walleyes
white bass and panfish
fishing under blue skies

Bring a rod and a reel
tackle box and cold beer
at the lake its the deal

Cast and wind
catch and clean
fried blackened or steamed

Cast out your worm, Texas rigged
work the lure till you get a bite
set the hook and enjoy the fight
if not, then switch to a blue-black jig

Ask me what I want to do, go fish
if I had a genie, it’s what I would wish
in the lake, river, creek or pond
eagerly cast next to a fern frond

Wiggle my bait and work it some more
hoping a fish cannot ignore
flipping up under docks
or the edges of piles of rocks

Working the tree stumps
waiting on a big thump
on my lure, adrenaline pumps
waiting for the end of my rod to jump

Bass, on Carolina, Alabama, or Texas rigs
crappie and pan fish I’ll catch on a jig
white bass and hybrids, on slabs and spoons
I have even caught them casting at  loons

Sam Rayburn, Cedar Creek or Lake Fork
I’m getting excited just like a dork
Tawakoni, Amistad, or Nacogdoches
if I ran out of bait, man I would use roaches

Livingston, Stryker, or the Trinidad  Lake
catching some fish, fry them up on a plate
bait cast, and spin cast, pushbuttons oh wow
I also can fly-fish, I taught myself how

Gar, carp and buffalo, anything that bites
looking for something to make my line tight
Matagorda, or Galveston, or Port A
I have no problems fishing  the bay

Intercoastal waterway or out in the surf
no problems cooking surf and turf
Black drum, Red fish or Speckled trout
as long as they’re biting I’ll never pout

Whiting, and Croakers and even Hardheads
catching are fun, getting the slime off you dread
gaff tops are pretty, but just as slimy nasty
I’ve never had any, I hear their pretty tasty

Flounders are flat and so are sting rays
but if that’s what’s biting I’ll fish everyday
jacks, and mackerel and bonnet head sharks
so many fish in the ocean, that’s just a start.

How about invasives, silver carp and snakeheads
cast for the snakehead, jumping carp in a net
I’ve fished lots of bass, native and Florida strain
but there is one thought that sticks in my brain

Is I’d like to go catch some peacock bass
top water action would really kick ***.
catch and release or serve it up in a dish
as you can see I really love to fish

March and April are the time
when crappie bite and winds chime
Cedar Creek, Prince's dock
it's the spot do not mock

Years of trees submerged there
fishing rods used by the pair
minnow on one jig on the other
catching crappie is never a bother

Medium shiner and red and chartreuse skirt
cast em out wait for the ****
cold Coors lite in the fridge
if not biting here, let’s try Caney bridge

Or maybe a dock across the way
down on the dam at the end of the day
but usually the dock will do just fine
under lights at dark or in  sunshine

Fill the basket with white and black
watch the cork, reel the slack
when it bobs, set the hook
paperlip slab, fillet and cook

Electric knife and old butcher block
cleaning fish around the clock
cornmeal, seasoning and fillets
a great dinner at the end of the day

Shake in a sack and toss in hot oil
toss in some hushpuppies' watch it roil.
eating on the deck with family and friends
our bellies full, the day ends

Golden tail showing
Eyespot above the water line
Cast bait, hopefully

Twitch the line, lure moves
Attention gained, tail twitches
Propels forward fast

Explosion, water splash
Lure swallowed, fight has begun
**** on line, hook sets

Drag is whining loud
Reel engaged, brace for impact
Hang on tight, hard pull

The rod is half bent
Creaks in pain from the straining
Stiffens now, fights back

Retrieve the slack, reel
Wind in the line against wrath
Fish begins to tire

Waist deep in waders
Gold color under water
Glides close, trophy caught.

Camera out, smile
Trophy lifted, photo done
Freedom, fish released

Out in the wild
Stream trickles through the field
I continue to hike, I will not yield.
Stop for a bit, sandwich bite, onion mild

Continue on to a spot I know
Hiking on with my pack
Sweating, almost there though, oh my back
Nobody but me has been there though.

Approach so I don't cast a shadow
Pack down, gear unpacked, rod assembled
Line fed, leader tied, tippet and fly, mayfly resembled
couple of back casts out into the meadow

Cast made, fly lands, begins to float downstream
Into the eddy, as it swirls across smooth stone
something eases to the surface looks at the fly, clear water shone
Life is good, water trickles, standing in the sunbeams

No bite, the line whips back
different landing spot
Middle of the day its hot
Fly floats into the shade of black

Strip line back a few times
allow the fly to swirl into the shade
huge splash the fly has paid
The price and tightens the line

Lift the rod, keep the line tight
strip a time or two, reel quick
Trout runs, stay out of the sticks
Fish landed, I win the fight

Into the creel, dinner tonight
walk aways down the stream
Look in the water for a flash and a gleam
Cast again looking for a fight

Creel full of trout
gutted and clean
hike back, keen
for dinner and a stout.

I stand in knee deep water
cold and quickly flowing
I cast my fly back and forth
where the water lillie's growing

Strip the line a few times
no bites so cast again
Take a few steps downstream
and simply rebegin

Fish for a while
no nibbles so change the fly
cast over a stump
bite knocks my bait in the sky

Cast back across
the old rotten stump
strip a few feet of line
and feel a little bump

The fight is on
not much but its fun
a green warmouth
catching fish in the sun

My little yellow fly
really does its job
so many little warmouths
on the stump, in a mob

I caught quite a few
not big enough to eat
so I move along
on a rock, I take a seat

Cool water flowing by
I relax in the sun
cast my lure to a point
I consider being done

One final cast
on the edge of some moss
Twitch my wooly ******
gets hammered by a hoss

she goes on a run
fly line is peeling
I can see the backing
drag is loudly squealing

The fight is truly on
I turn her and begin to reel
flashes or silver and green
she has fight left in her still

Tired out she finally gives up
I reel her to my side
an 8-pound bass, selfie
and I let her go in stride

I didn't catch a lot
but had a blue clear sky
If anybody asks if I caught
I'll say, I went didn't I

Columbia river, shirt and pants
walking the flats in a sting ray dance
shuffle, shuffle, slide and step
is it silly, a little, yep

Casting a torpedo, searching trout or reds
out hungry, patrolling the edge of grass beds
long cast out to a floating log
reel and pop it, as it walks the dog

Nothings biting here but, its ok
I'm not at work, and I have all day
just being in the bay is lots of fun
soaking up the salt spray and the sun