Give a Man a Fish and Other Adventures...

While on a recent visit to Chicago we rode bikes over to Humboldt Park. It's only a few blocks from the PK and Wallace house and there are trails, playgrounds and a lake. A bike malfunction led to a quick run for some back to the house. I had carried a fishing pole so I headed for the water. 

It was the second time I had fished the park lake. Using my go to spinner baits I only get an occasional nudge from small bream. Later when I was fishing the Chicago River I asked a guy fishing there if he was having an luck. He said "getting a few snaps." Apparently a snap is a bite. I don't know if this is in wide regional use or not but I like the descriptive term and will use it from now on.

I don't know what kind of fish are in the lake and I don't think the PK and Wallace know either but they do see people with fish. There was an alligator that came to be in the lake last year. In East Texas there is an alligator in most every lake but the source of this one was unknown and he caused quite a stir until captured and sent to hopefully a good home. 

I saw no alligators  this day but sitting on the stone steps to fish I watched this momma mallard swim up with four little ones. On the river while canoeing we often saw mallards with as many as a dozen babies following. Seconds after I took this photo there was a big splash and one baby duck, the one center left was gone. A large fish had eaten it. 

As I sat there I noticed a heavy piece of mono fishing line, maybe 50lb test, tied to a fence post and stretching out toward where the duck disappeared. I gave it a tug, felt resistance and pulled it in. A big carp was on the end of it. I don't think the carp ate the duck. They are typically bottom feeders and the mouth is not that big. I think that was a bass or maybe a big catfish. I let the carp back out.   

In a few moments Wallace and Peter came down the trail and we put Wallace to work, hauling like a sailor in a hurricane to land the carp again. 

Turns out the carp is not hooked but instead he is tethered with the line looked through his gills. He's on a leash so to speak. 

As we admire our fishy friend and educate Wallace on the natural world this guy comes running up. His speech is accented so I suspect, while he could be a citizen English might not be his first language. He says, "you going to eat fish.?" 

I tell him, "Heck fellow, it's not even my fish. He's tied out here." He probably though my accent was different also. He asked if he can have him and as he seemed to be quite excited about the prospect of a carp dinner I said sure. He sacks him up in one of those reusable grocery bags, thanks me and off he goes. Note his mask, which is falling off with excitement but I'll still count this as a non contact delivery. 

 

So like the duck, the carp is eaten. It swims in the man's belly. It's the way of the world. I'm glad to know there are large carp in this lake. Next time I fish I'll chum a bit with canned corn and fish a kernel on the bottom with a small hook. Water quality is improving in Chicago area waters but eating wild caught fish in city waters are not recommend. It's not even recommended in waters flowing through the Texas cities of Houston and Austin because of automobile and fertilizer run off. 

Maybe instead of teaching a man to fish we should teach him what fish not to eat and make sure he has some alternative so that him and his family stay healthy and well.