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A WHITE THUMB TACK ?

 

 

 

A WHITE THUMB TACK SEEMS LIKE A SILLY THING TO WRITE A STORY ABOUT BUT THERE IS A TALE BEHIND THIS TACK.  LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT IT.

 

WHEN I WAS SIXTEEN YEARS OLD DAD TOOK OUR FAMILY TO CADDO LAKE FOR A WEEK WHEN HE WAS ON VACATION.  WE STAYED AT BUBBA HANER’S CAMP IN ONE OF HIS RENTAL CABINS.  HIS CAMP WAS CALLED BIG LAKE CAMP AND HE HAD A LITTLE CAFÉ AND SEVERAL ONE ROOM CABINS.  ALSO A BAIT HOUSE AND A BUNCH OF WOODEN RENTAL BOATS.

 

I LOVED TO BASS FISH AND THOUGHT THAT WAS THE ONLY KIND OF FISHING WORTH WHILE.  DAD AND I WOULD GO OUT BASS FISHING EARLY IN THE MORNING, THEN COME BACK IN AND MOTHER WOULD COOK BREAKFAST FOR US.

 

AFTER BREAKFAST DAD AND MOTHER WOULD GO BREAM FISHING.  I FELT LIKE BREAM FISHING WAS BENEATH A BASS FISHERMAN SO I WOULDN’T GO WITH THEM.  ON THIS DAY WHEN THEY LEFT TO GO BREAM FISHING, I WAS SITTING ON THE BOAT DOCK WITH MY FEET DANGLING OFF.  I WAS WATCHING A LITTLE FISH SNAKE SWIMMING ALONE BESIDE THE DOCK LOOKING FOR HIS BREAKFAST.

 

“WHY DIDN’T YOU GO FISHING WITH YOUR MOM AND DAD?” THIS VOICE ASKED.  IT STARTLED ME SO BAD I ALMOST FELL IN THE LAKE RIGHT ON TOP OF THAT SNAKE.  I LOOKED OVER MY SHOULDER AND THERE STOOD MR. HANER.  “AW THEY WERE JUST GOING BREAM FISHING AND I’M A BASS FISHERMAN.”

 

“WELL ARE YOU A CATFISH FISHERMAN?” MR. HANER ASKED. 

 

“SOMETIMES WHEN WE ARE RUNNING TROT LINES.” I ANSWERED.

 

“YOU WANT TO GO CATFISH FISHING WITH ME?  I BET YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN FISHING LIKE ME.”   MR. HANER TURNED AROUND AND WALKED TO HIS BOAT.  IT WAS A SIXTEEN FOOT WOODEN BOAT MADE OUT OF CYPRESS WOOD AND IT HAD A BRAND NEW TEN HORSE JOHNSON OUTBOARD MOTOR ON IT.

 

I WANTED TO RIDE IN THAT BOAT WITH A TEN HORSE MOTOR ON IT AS MUCH AS I WANTED TO LEARN HOW MR. HANER CAUGHT CATFISH.  I JUMPED UP AND RAN TO CATCH UP WITH HIM AND WE GOT IN HIS BOAT AND HE TOOK OFF DOWN THE LAKE.  WE WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE LOUISIANA SIDE OF THE LAKE WHERE THERE WERE SEVERAL OIL WELLS ON PLATFORMS OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAKE.

 

MR. HANER PULLED OVER TO ONE OF THESE PLATFORMS AND SLOWLY CIRCLED IT.  THEN HE CAME BACK TO ONE OF THE CORNER PILINGS AND SHUT OFF THE MOTOR.  HE TOOK HIS PADDLE AND PADDLED THE BOAT BACK ABOUT TWO BOAT LENGTHS FROM THAT PILING.  HE PUT DOWN HIS PADDLE AND PICKED UP A ROPE WITH A FOUR WAY DRAG HOOK ON IT AND THROW THE HOOK OVER BOARD.  WHEN THE HOOK HIT BOTTOM HE STARTED SLOWLY RETRIEVING  THE HOOK.

 

THE LINE GOT REAL TIGHT AND MR. HANER SAID, “THERE IT IS.”

 

I ASKED HIM, “THERE WAS WHAT?”

 

“OUR CATFISH” HE ANSWERED AND PULLED UP A BARREL NET.  IT WAS FULL OF CATFISH.  HE UNTIED THE CORD AT THE BACK END OF THE NET THAT OPENED THE END AND POURED ALL THE CATFISH INTO THE BOAT.  THEN HE REACH IN AND TIED ANOTHER CLOTH BAG OF BAIT ON THE INSIDE OF THE NET.  AFTER THAT HE TIED THE END BACK CLOSED AND DROPPED THE NET BACK INTO THE LAKE.

 

THERE WAS A TOE SACK UNDER MY FEET AND MR. HANER TOLD ME TO HOLD THE SACK IN THE WATER UNTIL IT WAS GOOD AND WET.  THEN HE HAD ME HOLD IT OPEN WHILE HE PUT ALL THE CATFISH IN IT.  WHEN HE HAD PUT THE LAST FISH IN THE TOE SACK HE TIED A CORD AROUND THE NECK OF THE SACK SO THE FISH WOULDN’T FALL OUT.

 

I ASK MR. HANER HOW HE COULD FIND HIS TRAP WITHOUT A FLOAT OR SOMETHING ON IT?  HE PICKED UP HIS PADDLE AND PADDLED BACK TO THE CORNER PILING. 

 

“SEE THAT LITTLE WHITE THUMB TACK THREE FEET ABOVE THE WATER.” HE SAID AS HE POINTED HIS FINGER.  “I ALWAYS MARK THE PILING WHERE MY TRAP IS WITH A WHITE THUMB TACK, AND THEN JUST TO BE SURE NO ONE ELSE CAN FIND IT I BACK OFF TWO BOAT LENGTHS BEFORE I DROP IT IN.”

 

WE WENT BACK TO CAMP AND ON THE WAY AS WE PASSED TWIN ISLANDS I SAW MOTHER AND DAD BREAM FISHING.  WHEN WE GOT BACK TO CAMP I TIED MR. HANER’S BOAT TO THE DOCK AND HE HANDED THE TOE SACK FULL OF FISH UP TO ME.  THEN HE CLIMBED OUT OF THE BOAT AND TOOK THE SACK OF FISH INTO THE BAIT HOUSE AND TOLD WAYNE, HIS HIRED HAND, TO TAKE THEM TO THE FISH CLEANING TABLE AND START CLEANING THEM.  HE SAID HE WOULD GO UP TO THE CAFÉ AND GET A BIG DISH PAN TO PUT THEM IN.

 

I WENT TO OUR CABIN AND MADE ME A PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH AND PROPPED UP ON THE BED TO EAT IT.  THE LAST THING I WANTED WAS TO STAND AT THAT FISH CLEANING TABLE FOR AN HOUR CLEANING CATFISH.

 

BY THE TIME I FINISHED MY PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH AND DRANK A BIG GLASS OF MILK TO WASH IT DOWN WITH, I HEARD MOTHER AND DAD COMING IN.  I WENT BACK OUT ON THE DOCK AND WAITED FOR DAD TO PULL UP TO THE DOCK.  I TIED OUR BOAT TO THE DOCK AND HELPED MOTHER OUT OF THE BOAT.  THEN DAD HANDED ME A FIVE GALLON BUCKET HALF FULL OF BREAM AND TOLD ME TO TAKE THEM TO THE FISH CLEANING TABLE AND CLEAN THEM.  OH WELL, BREAM ARE EASIER TO CLEAN THEN CATFISH.

 

NOW I WOULD TELL YOU ABOUT MY BASS FISHING TRIP THE NEXT MORNING OR I COULD TELL YOU ABOUT THE NEXT TIME I SAW A WHITE THUMB TACK BUT THOSE ARE WHOLE NOTHER STORIES FOR  DIFFERENT TIMES.

 

 

  BY LOREN MOORE

COPYRIGHT 2004

 

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