| I started fishing a little lake just south of | | | | clean bluegill faster than anyone I have ever seen. |
| Somerset, Ohio, called Clouse Lake about 35 | | | | One day, I got teasing Earl about fishing for |
| years ago. Matter of fact, when I first started | | | | bluegill, I told him the only reason anyone would |
| fishing it, I fished with a fly rod. One day, I was | | | | fish for bluegill is because they couldn't catch a |
| fishing and noticed this older gentleman trying to | | | | bass. I have to admit, I had seen him catch bass |
| get a little plastic boat on his car after a hard | | | | on his flyrod while fishing for bluegill. Anyway, Earl |
| day's fishing. He was using a fly rod too. We | | | | said to me that he could catch bass anytime he |
| began chatting and discovered we lived about 10 | | | | wanted. I just laughed. So, Earl put on a little |
| miles from one another. He lived in Pleasantville. | | | | bigger fly and threw it about a dozen times and |
| As the conversation closed, he said he would call | | | | out comes a bass. Not only was it a bass but it |
| me sometime and we would go fishing together. I | | | | weighed about 6 and 1/2 pounds. He just looked |
| thought "Yeah, I bet he calls me". Imagine my | | | | at me and smiled, never said a word, then threw |
| surprise when he called two days later and | | | | it back. I was dumbfounded, to say the least. He |
| wanted to know if I wanted to go fishing with | | | | then went and tied his little fly back on and fished |
| him the next day. | | | | for bluegill some more. I sat in shock the rest of |
| Earl and I became good friends, we fished Clouse | | | | the day. |
| many times and about every other place that we | | | | I learned two lessons that day, one was never to |
| could find, that held water. He was an excellent fly | | | | run my mouth about people who like to fish for |
| fisherman. There was only one thing wrong with | | | | bluegill and the second was, right when you think |
| Earl, he liked to catch bluegill. Actually, he loved | | | | you have the bull by the horns, some old fellow is |
| catching Bluegill. He showed me how to clean | | | | going to show you different. By the way, I never |
| bluegills in a matter of seconds. Here is how he did | | | | teased Earl about his bluegill fishing again. Earl |
| it. First, he got out his board and filet knife. He | | | | passed away not too long after that, I was one |
| would scale the fish. Second, He would cut around | | | | of the last people he asked for. I miss you my |
| the head but not clear through. He would leave | | | | friend. |
| just a piece of meat right under the head. Then | | | | Did you know a large mouth bass and black bass |
| he would twist the head and pull and the whole | | | | really are not a bass? They are in the sunfish |
| insides would come out at one time. He could | | | | family. |