On lost tackle

It is said that if you’re not getting snagged fishing while fishing rivers, you’re not where the fish are. But along with catching rocks, trees and the occasional fish, bottom fishing can dredge up something more unexpected from the bottom. Recently, while fishing a local river, my rig returned from a snag with more tackle than I had sent it down with. It wasn’t the first time I had retrieved another fisherman’s lost rig, but I will admit it was the first time I gave it much thought.

I find garbage virtually every day, and it is rarely worth a second thought. But tackle isn’t a casually discarded chip bag or a receipt that fell out of someones pocket. Whoever put that rig together put care into it. He probably stood on the bank near where I was, wondering if his knot would hold, or if he had enough weight. I can picture him fishing hopefully, daring to be as expectant as I am. He probably felt the shameful, fleeting jolt when he mistook his snag for a fish. And he certainly felt the irritation I can identify with when his line broke off.

What I held in my hand was a portrait of a past angler. It showed me his expectations, his methods and his understanding of the water we ended up fishing together. He undoubtedly thought he was fishing in anonymity, never expecting to be a part of my angling excursion that afternoon. It makes me wonder if perhaps someday, years down the road, when my existence has become a distant memory carried away by the waters of life, another fisherman will come along and dredge up my lost rig. I hope he enjoys the company.