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| http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ |
Do you fish? What kind of fishing do you do? Fresh water?
Salt? Deep sea? My grandmother and my father taught me to fish in the lake my
grandmother lived on before I was five. I’ve fished on and off all of my life and
I love it. I don’t eat fish, but I love to catch 'em. The last four or five
years of my father’s life, my sister and I would go out to Oregon to fish for wild
salmon with our father and our three half siblings. It was the highlight of my Dad’s days. He
fished right up until about five months before he passed away, and even then,
during those last months, he’d talk about wishing he could "throw one more plug."
What does this have to do with the letter “X”?
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| Xiphias - Swordfish |
This is what. My grandmother was a fisherwoman all of her
life. Once, while deep sea fishing in the Gulf off the coast of St. Petersburg
Florida, she caught a Tarpon that was longer than she was tall. The other day
while thinking about deep sea fishing and how I could get it into my A to Z
posts, I found out that Swordfish, by their Latin name are called Xiphias, which put me in mind
of my grandmother’s huge catch and so, in the roundabout way that thoughts turn
sometimes, I decided to write about my grandmother and her deep sea fishing
experience. This photo of her and her Tarpon came from The St. Petersburg
Newspaper. I’m lucky to have a copy of it, and you’re lucky I get to share it
with you!
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| Ruth McDonald Buie and her Tarpon |
"Megalops is considered one of the great saltwater game fishes. They are prized not only because of their great size, but also because of the fight they put up and their spectacular leaping ability."
I'm sure that Swordfish, Xiphias, are just as much fun and dynamic to watch when they leap from the water on the end of a hook... Sounds like my kinda fish to catch!
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| I'd love to fish for Tarpon |
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| Just look at that sucker jump and fight! |
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| But one this size would probably break my wrists! |
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That is one big fish! My in-laws love to fish but it is not my thing. Glad you have a newspaper clipping of your grandmom
ReplyDeleteYour grandmother looks proud enough to burst in that photograph, and who could blame her? That is one ginormo fish she landed. I just love how demure she looks, with her pretty pumps, and her pretty dress, beside her MASSIVE fish!!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother was ahead of her time! She owned her own business too, and never let someone telling her she couldn't do it to stop her! She and my Dad knocked heads a lot!
DeleteI used to love to fish with my dad. We'd go out in his boat on Baffin Bay (salt water) and fish for speckled trout. Dad would filet them, and mom would freeze them. We'd often have fish for several months from just one trip.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very, very big fish :) I have never even caught a small one - fishing is not something I have ever tried. Me and bait would not get on - maggots and worms - ewwwwww! ;)
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
I had a friend who caught a swordfish in Mexico and had it mounted. It looked like it was made of paper-mache. But I guess if you go through the trouble of catching it and reeling it in you do not want to just have a picture.
ReplyDelete@msdeniseh553
Life After Retirement - My Russian Adventure
I'm just the opposite. I love to eat fish, but really don't care to catch them. I have been fishing and for me it's not much fun. I would rather set a fish snare and come back later and eat the fish after slow roasting it over a fire.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa - I'll happily eat the fish you catch!! How fantastic that your Dad was able to fish til a few months before he died, and that you children were so often able to go with him .. I can't see the enjoyment in fishing .. but it catches on that's for sure ..
ReplyDeleteYour grandmother looks really special and that fish is huge - fantastic you've got that photo and the article, I hope to go with it .. cheers Hilary
Wow, that's an amazing picture. What a woman! I've never would have thought that women of that era would go for the big ones. I did fish a couple of times with my dad when I was little, but mostly I remember going through his tackle box, admiring all the lures.
ReplyDeleteI'm really not a fan of fishing. My father dragged me when I was a kid and I always saw it as a chore.
ReplyDeleteBut that is one impressive fish, and an awesome photo of your grandmother.
Wow, that fish is enormous!
ReplyDeleteAnnalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep
I haven't fished in soooo long. I used to do a lot of fishing with my family when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteThat little woman caught that big fish? Wow!
Oh, we'd be great friends! You like to fish but not eat them, and I don't like to fish but love eating them. :) (We're getting to the end of the challenge, and I think all of my comments today are on the goofy side).
ReplyDeleteYour grandma is one impressive woman!
Thanks Nadine! I thought so too. She and my Dad (her son) were the ones who taught me to fish. I have a "Fisherman's Log" which she kept from April 10,1946 to April 22, 1967!
DeleteThis post is a great example of why I am now following this blog. Well done with information that is enjoyable, and I'm not a fisherman. Thanks for sharing this great photo/story.
ReplyDeleteThank you Stepheny! I'm enjoying your blog too! I'm keeping the info you wrote about taxis in Rome tucked away for future reference!
DeleteI haven't been fishing in a long time, but I just had some tilapia! Does that count?
ReplyDeleteHa ha Megan! In my book it counts, because I'd hate to waste a fish like this!
DeleteYour grandmother is awesome. I used to fish all the time. My dad used to take me fishing, Ironically, I was just talking about it on my Saturday Vacation posting.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how you'd even catch a fish that big. I would think it would snap the line. Obviously, I never did deep sea fishing.
Wow, your grandmother caught a big fish!
ReplyDeleteMy family liked to fish. I preferred just to eat them.
That is a big fish. But, like Alex, I prefer to eat them. Done some fishing in my time but sport fishing wouldn't interest me one bit, I fish for food when I do it at all. But I do find it a boring occupation. Matt enjoys it though.
ReplyDeleteIm not big on fishing (my attention span is way too short for that) but I did go out on a boat once a few miles from the coast and did some off shore fishing. It was a lot of fun and I would love to do it again some day.
ReplyDeleteSean at His and Her Hobbies
Wow!! Your grandmother rocked :) That is some fish!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I had a little giggle when I saw that you and our Jo were on the same wavelength :)
Me too Mark! Cracked me up when I read her post!
DeleteWow! That's quite a BIG fish and it would be a spectacular sight seeing it put up a fight et al! Amazing pics!
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