Well, Here Goes

[Chief Grey Bear]

Here are a few short stories that I had published in a local paper.

Wow, what an action packed weekend! It started about 6 a.m. Saturday morning as soon as I got home from work. I went to my son’s room to ask him if he wanted to go fishing. I was pretty sure what he would say but, being it was that early in the morning and the fact that he is like his mother when it comes to sleeping, I wasn’t 100% sure. So, I asked him.

“Can we go to that place on Cedar Creek where we got those big’uns last week?” he wanted to know.

“If that is where you want to go?” I responded.

“Yeah, I want to go there!” was his excited response.

By 6:15 a.m. we were on the road to Cedar Creek in Newton County. Now for those of you acquainted with Cedar Creek, I know what you are thinking, and you are right. If you laid long ways across it, you could touch both banks. But to a kid it’s as big as the Missouri River.

One our favorite types of fishing is by wading small creeks and rivers. Especially with the hot weather we have been having, even that early in the morning it feels great to step into that nice cool water.

Small creeks such as Cedar offer a different style of fishing. It is also an excellent chance to teach children not only about the diverse amount of aquatic life that inhabits creeks and rivers, but also how to read a creek.

Read a creek? What in the world can I be talking about? Well, that would be how it flows--meaning learning how a creek or river operates as it makes its meandering journey through different types of territory.

Basically there are two types of creeks and rivers in my book: prairie types that flow through somewhat flat terrain usually associated with cropland and mountain types that generally flow through moderately hilly, rocky, and heavily wooded terrain. Both types offer different styles of fishing and both can be productive.

Prairie type creeks are generally slower flowing because of the slow drop in elevation they experience, and they have a murky consistency. Most of these also have mud bottoms and banks and have fewer riffles and gravel bars. This is due to the fact that they mainly flow through bottom-type land areas.

Mountain type creeks are generally faster flowing than prairie type creeks because they come rolling down out of the hills, dropping greatly in elevation. They can be absolutely crystal clear with several gravel bars and riffles and mostly rocky/gravel bottoms. Both types offer deep pockets of water that are great places to try your luck.

We hit the creek about 6:30 a.m. With just a short walk in the cool water we hit the first hole. Dylan was the first to make a cast and the first to catch one. There is nothing like watching him reel them in. I don’t know who has more fun, him or me.

We caught quite a few in this fist hole. Some were really big nice Bluegill in the 7 to 8 inch range, or really good size for a small creek like Cedar.

We continued down to the next hole that I would venture to say was only about a quarter of a mile away. Before we got to it though, we had to stop at a riffle for some minnow and crawdad catching. Well, it was more agitation than anything, but Dylan was having the time of his life, and that is what counts.

After about 10 minutes, we made it to our final destination. Though this spot was productive, it didn’t compare to the first hole, but that was okay, as we weren’t looking to keep any fish anyway.

It was getting along about 9 a.m. I figured by this time the wife would be getting up, and I was feeling like a little breakfast and needing to be going to bed shortly thereafter after working all night. I asked Dylan if he was ready to go get something to eat.

“Not really,” he said, but he was willing to go if I promised to bring him back.

Not a problem there. Not a problem at all.