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Fishing and Politics
by: Lloyd Tackitt 10/19/2012
"What was I thinking? This is a bad mistake." Fred thought to himself as he walked away from his co-worker Jerry. They had just agreed to to an overnight fishing trip in the mountains. As Jerry walked away he had the same thoughts "Really Jerry? Have you lost your mind?" Fred and Jerry were co-workers and friendly with each other, but not quite friends. They had quickly learned not to talk politics with each other. Each one thought the other ignorant and intransigent in their opinions and beliefs. As long as they avoided political discussions they worked together fine, but they had never gotten together outside of work. That day they had started talking about fishing and ended up agreeing to a weekend camping/fishing trip. Although each of them was thinking this was a disastrously bad idea, neither would admit it to the other. They met in the supermarket parking lot Saturday morning. Fred had a four wheel drive SUV and Jerry a small hybrid. By prior agreement Jerry put his gear into Fred's SUV, locked his car and off they went. The drive to the camping area was mostly quiet. When they arrived they set up camp. Jerry set up an ultra-light one man backpacker-special tent. Fred laid the back seats down flat and inflated an air matress. Fred would sleep in the SUV as he usually did. With the camp arranged they began assembling their fly rods. Jerry had a restored bamboo flyrod. He considered his rod to be environmentally friendly because it was made of bamboo; a renewable-sustainable material that captured carbon from the atmosphere. Fred's rod, on the other hand, was made entirely from high tech materials that in Jerry's mind required a huge carbon footprint to manufacture. Fred glanced at Jerry's rod and thought it was a pretentious antique. At least his own rod had helped create jobs and pump money into the economy. Jerry's hadn't contributed to the economy in fifty years. Jerry went down to the river and watched the insects for a while before tying on a dry fly that most closely matched the current hatch. Fred tied on a nymph. Jerry was just able to keep from shaking his head at Fred using a nymph. He saw fly fishing as a highly tecnical art form. Fred looked at Jerry's fly with a hairy eyeball. Fred saw fly fishing as a way to catch fish. They hit the water and went in opposite directions, happily fishing away from each other. That evening they each brought back trout for dinner. Jerry put a small amount of extra virgin olive oil in a light weight stainless steel frying pan with collapsible handle. He shaved some vidalia onions and shitake mushrooms into the pan and gently sauteed his trout with an assortment of seasonings. Fred pulled a cast iron skillet from the SUV and threw in four slices of bacon. When the bacon fat had been rendered he tossed his trout into the smoking hot grease quickly searing both sides then pulled the skillet back from the coals a little and let it simmer, absorbing the bacon fat. Jerry went to the river and brought back the bottle of white wine he had chilled in the frigid water. Fred retrieved a bottle of single malt scotch from his SUV. They each enjoyed their meal tremendously. Up to this point they had avoided talking to each other except for polite minimal discussion on pragmatic matters. With the meals consumed and drinks in hand they sat across the fire from each other. They could feel the tension building, it had come to the time where a conversation would have to take place or else they would each feel insulted. Jerry, opened the conversation by talking about the fish he had caught that day and on which flys. Fred then told of his fishing day. The conversation died. Fred tried to revive it by describing a past trip on the same river. Jerry did the same. The conversation died again. They sat looking at each other in deafening silence. The tension built. Jerry's right eye began to twitch. Fred started drumming his fingers on his leg. After a long silent stretch the tension was too much and Jerry blurted out "Romney!". Fred immediately snapped back with "Obama!". Within seconds they were a tangle of arms and legs as they rolled down the bank. It was a quiet drive back the next morning. Each of them thinking "I sure showed him!". At work the next day they met at the water cooler. Fred said "That was a great trip, want to do it again next month?" "Absolutely" Jerry replied. "Can't wait!" Moral: Don't mix fishing and politics. But if you do, fishing wins every time.
Blog content © Lloyd Tackitt Member comments Flyrodn, CO 10/21/2012 6:42:21 AM
I agree. FISHRANGLER, CO 10/21/2012 8:56:46 AM
That was great. tbblom, CO 10/21/2012 9:00:06 AM
prius driving bamboo rod casting dry fly only guy? And he votes Romney? I don't buy it!
Vote Obamney, or Romnama, whatever... different side of the same coin as with every election.
JKaboom, CO 10/22/2012 9:10:48 AM
Yep.... Ajax5240, CO 10/22/2012 10:49:44 AM
I would have lost the bet on who was voting for who! MR CHILLIE, CO 10/25/2012 3:40:23 PM
I thought i was the only one that thought the names were backwards...guess it really sums up they way the country will vote this year.......no freakin' idea! Lloyd Tackitt (Lloyd Tackitt), TX 10/26/2012 7:47:28 AM
I deliberately twisted who they would vote for, just for grins. Coyute, CO 10/31/2012 4:32:01 PM
Funny as heck but you got your characters mixed up!
There is no way in h*ll a guy that cooks a lowly trout caught on a nymph in bacon grease and washes it down with a nice scotch is an Obummer guy!
I was rooting for ol' Fred up until the part where he revealed his inner socialist moron! Now they both seem like dicks. lol
I value other people's opinions as long as they coincide with mine. IceFishingFool, CO 10/31/2012 11:14:35 PM
Guess what, I meet those guys almost every day LOL Bottom Bouncer, CO 11/1/2012 12:43:50 AM
Moral of the story.
If you sleep in a small backpack tent, wear your magic underwear to stay warn,
And not all Obama people drive small hybrids. Bassackwards, CO 11/1/2012 4:17:21 AM
Sometimes fishing is best when nobody says a word...true story. esoxrocks, CO 11/4/2012 11:54:52 AM
Yup, we all need to focus on what’s really important…like the love of fishing. Politically we are just about exactly 50% - 50% as a country, so nobody’s ever going to get it 100% their way. One thing is for sure, however, if we can’t come together on the important issues pretty soon, we are all screwed.
Bottom Bouncer, CO 11/4/2012 12:47:27 PM
I agree with esoxrocks. If they need to come together in Washington. Or were all screwed for 4 more years. Repub or Demo. IceFishingFool, CO 11/4/2012 3:59:49 PM
Im thinking the congress will get back to work, instead of blocking most everything to prevent a second term ?
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