Memories of fishing
The fondest memories I have as a kid growing up in Greenville are of fishing.
I remember my father’s old 3-horsepower Wizard motor. I especially remember it not cranking when we needed it to. I remember thinking, “Why did I get up early, and miss cartoons, to come out here in the dark only for the motor not to crank?” Nevertheless, it always seemed a little humorous listening to him talk to a boat motor.
I remember going on picnics at Leroy Percy State Park with my mother, father and brother. I remember fishing from the bank for bream. The biggest fish I caught was a grinnel (bowfin) when I was 7.
My father would tell me stories about how they would go fishing on the weekends near where he was born and raised, near Kilmichael and Stewart, on the Big Black River-Jack’s Slough. He said they went every weekend except when he had to help his dad with the crops. They grew cotton, corn and peanuts. He said how they would go fishing in their ’36 Chevrolet and tie the cane poles on the side of the car. I have the car now and have restored it to its original condition.
One of the most memorable times was when I was about 9 and my brother was about 5. We were on the borrow pits on Lake Lee. He went to sleep, fell and hit his head on the boat seat in front of him. He cut his head open, and we had to take him to the emergency room at King Daughters Hospital. He never went fishing again. He got hooked on piano and guitar. Another time, about 1987, my father and one of my college roommates fished on Lake Ferguson for bream and boated a limit each — 300 in total.
However, probably my fondest memories were going to spend two weeks in the summer with my grandfathers. Then, opening cattle gaps and cutting grass seemed like great fun. My grandfather Arnold Herring always managed to keep a pond full of catfish for me to catch!
Although those fond memories may seem like a long time ago, fishing has been around for thousands of years.
Primitive humans fished with spears, traps and crude nets. At some point in time, they had to have thought that if they offered fish something they would eat, of course, served on something which they couldn’t escape, they would have a fine meal. This opened a whole new world of sport fishing, and technology has advanced to the point of being able to see the fish as they fish below your boat even.
If you have never tried fishing, you should consider it. Just grab yourself a simple cane pole and some worms and find you a fishing hole. You’ll be hooked in no time.
James L. Cummins is executive director of Wildlife Mississippi, a nonprofit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. The website is www.wildlifemiss.org.
