what not to catch

Yesterday up Millcreek I got into it with a man undoing the rigging on his fishing pole, standing at his truck mid afternoon, long after the fish would be feeding.  He was pissed I allowed my on leash dog to drink from that part of the river where a damn had created a small pond.  His exact words to me were “you let your dog take a fucking bath.”  And according to him worse than that my child who had slipped off her shoes to get her feet wet was now being exposed to parasites that would kill her. Now, I had seen him as we approached, noted he was not fishing but might be planning to so I was careful to keep the dogs on leash and on the bank, letting Beach wade only on the edge of a small inlet as not to disturb the fish for him. And yet he continued to complain to me. Beyond not backing down or losing my cool, I politely ask him if he planned to cast because at that point we would move on.  

Instead of answering he restated his opinion regarding my poor choice as a mother to allow my child in the infested water.  I replied "Thank you for your concern but I am a mom and a biologist, I'll take my chances."

It went on like that for a good 10 minutes. He bounced between rude and semi-threatening.  Surprisingly none of it bother me- the mountains are magical that way.

Finally though it got old.  I said, “You do realize we are both standing on public land. It is an off leash day and yet I am keeping my dogs from spoiling your fun out of sheer politeness.  I have only stopped here because walking up that narrow busy road with a kid with a visual impairment and 2 dogs who are not used to being leashed isn’t so easy. I needed a place to pause between our trail head and our car which are not so near each other today due to the weekend crowds.  You on the other hand are a full grown man standing here doubled parked like a troll attempting to frighten a mother and her small child for no apparent reason.”

He was losing ground. “This is bullshit.” He said, “all these dogs…”

“I sort of agree.  There are a lot of people and a lot of dogs up here today, probably too many of both and yet the only animal we have had trouble today with is you.  I am wondering, do you always harass women out alone with their disabled children or this out of character for you?”

Okay the 'disabled' part is probably a bit unfair (although technically/legal true) of me but at least it served to end the conversation.

Beach who had continued her life as if nothing was happening between this strange man and her mother except to at one point mimic under her breath 'let your dog take a fucking bath' announced, “I am watching the bugs on the surface- there aren’t any fish in here, mom.”  I tried to spot the fish too and saw nothing.  

A few minutes later another man appeared on the road.  He walked to the man who had been bothering us without much conversation other than the pronouncement they were leaving empty handed having caught nothing all day, they left.

As his truck pulled away the first of the fish began to appear and within ten minutes while my dog and child waded loudly through the pond it filled with glistening fish all around them.  It may sound like a fable but shit-you-not this is true story. And to the empty handed fisherman, perhaps you are using the wrong bait. Better luck next time. 

In this pic Beach is standing in the spot we were and I am standing where the man had been.