14. The Fisherman's Quiver

The trouble with the beach is that it is made of sand which is hard on fishing reels. The trouble rises exponentially with the number of participating children, especially those in the “booger eating moron” developmental stage, because they keep thinking of other things to do besides hold a fishing rod.

Worse yet, beach fishing encourages bring a lot of equipment (a strong general inclination of this sawed-off sportsman) because a lot of equipment is actually called for. You need the little rod and reel to catch the pinfish to put on the big rod and reel to catch the sharks and the medium rod and reel to deal with passing customers while you’re waiting for the shark to eat the pinfish. You also need a tackle box, cast net, drink, bait bucket (or functional equivalent), chair, disposable camera (skeptic antidote), four-man fishing rig, baseball bat (shark antidote) and ice – minimum. And laying all this paraphernalia on the sand adversely impacts the next day’s functionality.

One morning, as we were preparing to leave, I walked to take one last look at the beach and noted a returning lone fisherman with two rods & reels in a five gallon mop bucket. The “Now why didn’t I think of that?” bell sounded loudly. The only flaw in his solution was the mop bucket – way too small.

The full bodied solution (bigger bucket), without adding to the problem (more stuff to carry), quickly led to a rectangular kitchen trash can bolted into a used baby backpack carrier with the seat cut out. Three six inch sections of PVC pipe bolted inside the trash can with a wooden backing were rod holders. (It helped that all of the fishing rods were telescopic). I do not build well but every once in a while – and these are the times you can really feel the force is with you – things start falling into place without measured planning. A retired small tackle box fit snuggly into the space between the PVC rod holders and the other side of the trash can! And below the tackle box was plenty of space for the other necessities. The principal further insight was that sand spikes, to deploy the rods in, fit in between the PVC tubes bringing the total rod/reel firepower to six. And the outside of the trash can is available for commercial advertising like on a NASCAR racer (just kidding).

Now I’ll be the first to admit that you get some funny looks while walking to the shore wearing this tackle store on your back (which is why I try and make somebody else wear it). But when you get to the water it is D-day in reverse for the fishys.

ML
7-12-07