NANFA-- The Marsh

Ty Hall (tyhall_at_mia.net)
Tue, 21 Oct 2003 14:12:32 -0500

We made several more stops over the next few hours. Casting Lures and
dipping our nets. The lure casting proved to be fruitless as the wary
native fishes seemed
keyed in to our very presence. The dip netting also proved to be of
little consequence. Fish observed were Iowa Darters, Mud Minnows, Fine
Scale Dace, Gold
Shiners, Dwarf Madtoms and Brook Sticklebacks.

On our second to last stop, we encountered the most dreaded of all Marsh
denizens. The Northern Pike, also known to the locals as the Northern
Pike. What started as a seemingly ubiquitous event quickly changed as
the air was shattered by Sajjad's (somewhat girlish) screams of
"Something's got me! What do I do?" The water became a sudden boil of
activity as Sajjad's reel screamed under the intense pressure of a large
fish. After ten harrowing minutes the giant lay at our feet. Thirty
four inches of hatred jammed in to a fishes body. The mighty Pike had
fallen. Blood was everywhere, some of it the fishes, the rest of origin
unknown . The beast had been slain. Sajjad had wrestled his demons and
stood proud over his first Pike and what a beauty it was. Cigars were
dispensed and joy and reverie ensued.

Our intrepid explorers journey was quickly coming to an end. After one
more uneventful stop the crew broke up and headed back to base camp
(Ray's house) to
review the events of the day.

Other interesting beasts encountered along the journey were a Ribbon
snake, expertly caught and safely handled by our own fearless guide Ray
and a Bald Eagle which soared high over us at one location seeming to
search for a proper angle to desecrate Ray's truck.

Our brave explorers weak and weary broke camp and headed back to the
comforts of their respective homes.

Photographic evidence of this not so incredible journey can be found at

http://www.mia.net/tyhall/marsh/index.html

Respectfully submitted, Ty Hall
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