Chitter has fell in love with fishing. Over the last several months she’s fished creeks, lakes, and rivers from here to Haywood County NC.
She’s still learning on the fishing skill front, but she’s more than made up for her lack of knowledge with her excitement.
Chitter has become so enamored with fishing that she’s started trying to make her own spinners 🙂
Although I cleaned a lot of fish when I worked at Lake Logan back in the day I’ve never really caught any fish.
When I was a girl Pap often took Steve and Paul fishing. Sometimes they let me tag along, but I mostly played by the edge of the water or in the woods nearby instead of fishing.
Pap loved to tell the story about the time Paul caught a big carp on the banks of the Hiwassee River. I wasn’t fishing but got so excited about Paul’s big fish that I tried to help by picking him up and running up the bank with him as he reeled in the fish. Pap’s eyes would just dance whenever he told that story.
Most every fishing trip that I begged to go on with Pap and the boys ended with me also begging for it to be over so I could go home.
I do have fond memories of those days even though my whining was an annoyance to them.
I loved seeing the water and the small fish that swam near the banks. I enjoyed hearing the sounds of the birds, insects, and animals as I played near the moving water. Most of all I enjoyed the times Pap would ride me on his back to make sure I didn’t get scratched by briars and branches. I loved the feeling of his sure footedness as he scrambled down the bank flattening vegetation as he went so that the boys would have an easier time of walking.
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There are few things better than when I was a kid going fishing with my folks. We’d spend all day at a lake or the Harpeth River in Nashville (60+ years ago). We were bank fishermen, not boaters.
After catching anywhere from 20-100 bluegill, small-mouth bass, rock bass, an occasional catfish, and gars and carp that we’d release back, we’d bring them home, clean them, and Moma would dreep fry them on the porch along with hushpuppies and make cole slaw. Even as a kid I could eat 7 or 8 fried so good you could eat the tails. All the ones we didn’t fry would be put in milkcartons, covered with water, then froze.
Pulling out fish from the freezer in wintertime with all the fixings helped us relieve those golden days of fishing.
Thanks for all you do, Tipper. You’re the only person I always read every morning on my email. It’s like taking a trip back home in the land that never grows old.
I remember fishing trips with my dad in Canada and in the UP of Michigan. He was a sportsman and won several awards for his fishing. He was even featured in a sports magazine out of Michigan back in 1981. I love Katie’s excitement in a lot of things she does.
I love sitting and chilling while other people fish, but I’ve got no interest in it myself. I’m more like Chatter said in their video Day In The Life–I’d rather just keep casting the line, since that’s the part I find fun. Someone else can touch the bait and the fish!
Tipper,
Thank you for sharing that wonderful fishing memory! It is often in hindsight that we see just how wonderful our parents and sibblings were….sigh……
My Daddy taught me how to fish when I was a young girl. I’ve pond fished, creek fished, pier fished, and surf fished. One of my favorite memories was when we got to go to the beach my Dad had our lines set up with 2 hooks so we could catch 2 fish at the time. We were on the inlet and were catching 2 mullets at the time. So much fun!! Then I married a town fellow who doesn’t care a hoot about fishing, LOL. We have fished a few times over the years, actually had him pier fishing a couple of times. When we go to the beach if there is a pier nearby, we will walk out and see what the folks are catching. It’s always fun to watch.
My now deceased husband taught me to fish when we were dating much like Nick has Katie it seems. I had never fished before. After we married we would take the kids fishing & I would pack a big picnic basket full of pimento cheese sandwiches, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, chips & sodas. We especially liked to take the kids in the Spring when the bream were bedding up because the kids had a better chance of catching fish. I remember one time when my son was about 9, he hooked our German Shepherd in the nostril. The dog started running in panic & my son, still holding the rod, ran behind the dog & the rest of us running behind them to try to catch the dog. After finally catching the dog, my husband had us all hold the dog down & he got the hook out of the dog’s nostril. Another time our daughter caught a snake & she was scared to death & started running up the hill still holding the pole. We were hollering for her to drop the pole & she finally did. My husband shot the snake-it was a water moccasin. And all between these two episodes, we spent a lot of time getting the kids’ hooks out of trees. But those times are some of my best memories. When we seriously wanted to catch fish we didn’t take the kids. I would help my husband clean the fish & he would cook them outside along with hush puppies. I would make the baked potatoes & slaw & a lemon icebox pie. I am allergic to fish so I never got to eat them. I would mashed the fish with my fingers to make sure there were no bones in what the kids ate & that would make them so mad. Such wonderful memories! Wish I could do that again with my kids & husband. Make many wonderful fishing memories, Katie!
From the Pressley Girls YouTube videos one has to wonder if Katie fell in love with fishing or her fishing partner. 🙂
Years ago, when my children were small(they’re both grown, with kids of their own now) their Pop Pop would take them fishing all of the time. In between, he had them practice by casting into an old Chock Full of Nuts tin can.
My son & daughter still love fishing, either in a cove, the bay, or in the ocean. Their kids love it, too & the story of Pop & the coffee tin lives on.
The fishing trips described today reminded me when my whole family decided to go catfishing, at a good size pond in Calhoun Georgia. We fished until everyone was blistered. All 10 of us , 8 adults 2 very small children. My sister Kathy broke her reel so they fashioned her pole into a cane pole and was told to just run up the sand until you got the fish out of the water. She caught many fish to my surprise. I only caught a few they looked ugly, they stank up my sitting station I had been assigned. So I never wanted to eat that unclean meat again. The first deep frying took place and it tasted like dirt. No more cats for me. I lost an uncle in carters lake and his body was never found , I have no desire to use carters lake. Thank you for pricking my memory today.
My Daddy taught me to fish, and every year we went fishing for the day on his vacation. I remember those times as being lots of fun.
As a little daddy’s girl, I followed him when he was fishing for blue gill but I didn’t fish I just played around the water. My Grandmother loved to fish and I went with her and her cane pole but did not fish myself and found it not too fun as that was the only time she would ask me to be quiet. She must have thought talking would scare away the fish:)
When I married I found out my husband absolutely loved fishing and was a great at it. Our honeymoon was traveling to Miami, Florida and my husband had booked a day of deep sea fishing. I knew very little about fishing and was just starting to learn that I could get seasick. Spent the whole day down in the cabin/galley trying not to throw up. My husband had a wonderful time and caught one of those Marlins. I was just glad to get back to shore:) Years later when our first son was about nine months old, my husband planned a fishing trip for the weekend and my parents took care of our son. We went up to my aunt’s cabin in Wisconsin and what a wonderful time I had learning to fish for Crappie. He cleaned them and I cooked them. Through the 51 years we sure had some fantastic fishing trips. Loved catching large mouth bass on Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas. I also loved the smell and scenic beauty of the lakes. My husband taught our sons how to fish and they still carry on that love of fishing. As young boys, I can still hear them say to him – “just one more cast Daddy.” I can see Katie is enjoying it too.
Some people practice “catch and release” but I do not. I fish for food therefore I fish for edible species. Some people fish for something to put on the wall, I fish for something to put on the table. Some fishermen brag about how long it was, I brag about how good it was. I don’t enjoy the fight, I enjoy the flavor.
Did you ever sit on the riverbank and watch a limb from an overhanging tree dip itself in the moving water and ride downstream until the stress causes it to flip out and back up to where it started? Over and over? Occasionally a leaf will drift down, wrap itself around the limb and ride down too? The added weight causes the limb to bend even further but eventually it flips out again and the leaf goes flying? Now that’s fishing!
Ed down here, we call what you said in the first paragraph catch and grease. I do have a nice largemouth bass on the wall 8lbs 12ozs. I caught this fish in Feb. 1972 the year I graduated from high school. Daddy got up enough money to have it mounted for my graduation present from him and mother. Tipper is the fish Chitter has in the picture a smallmouth bass?
My sister wants me to go out west with her and spend a few weeks visiting several states. I said I would rather rent a cabin and pontoon boat and spend a week fishing on one of the KY lakes. Chitter, be careful because fishing is addictive!
You have such great memories of doing so many things with your pap and brothers. I’ve only been fishing once. My sister and her husband love to go camping. My brother-in-law also like to fish, so they took me camping with them when I was around 12 yrs old. He taught me how to bait the hook and cast my line. I caught a fish called a Blue Gill. I was so excited, but when I grabbed the fish to take it off the hook I got pricked good. I didn’t know them Blue Gill fish could spike out their gills to protect themselves. It hurt and I’ve never been fished since. I’ve watched, but pass every time to actually do it myself.
Chitter sure does have a beautiful, happy and excited smile while fishing I must say!!! I have never caught a fish in my life. I’d go with Murray and the girls fishing when we were a young family. Mainly I just watched the girls so they wouldn’t fall in the water or in rocks and that kept me occupied (believe it!) Murrman has always liked fishing, but I can’t tell you even when they eat my bait. I’ve been deep sea fishing with Murrman and the girls and it ended in disaster. All I could do is hang in there best I could heaving and gagging which made for an awful evening. I suspect Murrman likes fishing cause 1) he’s done it since he was a boy in NY and also 2) because I am not there to aggravate him in his peace… lol I say to Miss Corey “ FISH ON GAL!” Oh btw I worked with a RN who was a professional bass fisherman. She also had lots of body work on herself if you’re with me here. She had a boat the sponsors bought her, all brand new clothes and fishing gear to go along with it and cash money for tournament wins— so with Katie’s personality, I could see such in her future. Oh there’s money in fishing! I like to watch noodling for catfish myself. But y’all fish on and I will stay home promising not to get sea sick, bored and scare all the poor fish away.
Our children never get beyond surprising us it seems. But it isn’t a long stretch from rocks>creek>fish to fishing for Chitter. If she gets tired fishing she can look for rocks, if tired rock looking she can fish. Smart.
A wonder full gift is to have outdoors to roam and learn in and a bump of curiosity. Never a danger of running out of things to see, hear, smell, taste or learn in nature. One thing just leads to another and another and another. Here, just now, it is mushrooms after all the rain; white, red, yellow, brown, bluegreen-gray, fiery orange, plain orange and that just the ones I’ve seen.
And when it comes to fishing, one “catch” is the stories of the one(s)/that got away. Then add the stories of the ones that were seen but would never bite….. Happy fishing, and some catching, Chitter!
I hope she got a fishing license. The word I hear is that she comes from notorious outlaw stock in that regard.
On her maternal side 😉
I’m from a family of “fishers”. My Daddy took me fishing with him all the time since I was the oldest of five girls, we never had a brother but we had a cousin who was a good substitute. I married a true fisher when I was sixteen,later we had three sons who are also fishers. Tell Chitter to keep on fishing, it’s the most frustrating fun she will ever have ❤
All of my family liked to fish. My daughter that was killed in an accident would get so excited when she caught one. For several years after I managed to get a straight first shift job, my father in law and I would go every Friday evening/night to Lake Greenwood , SC and fish off a friend’s dock for catfish. My son likes to fish for strip bass. He bought a pontoon boat and told his mother that it was her retirement present. She was so excited for him, but she died before she got to go with him. I always liked to trout fish in the mountains above Walhalla, SC, but it has been a long time since I have done that. By the way, the largest fish I have every caught was also a carp while fishing with my father in law on one those Friday nights. In some of my comments, I will mention my father in law and mother in law, to me they were just like having another mother and daddy . My parents were close friends to them, so I often got to spend time with all of them at the same time.
You need to have your friend, Jim Casada, giver her an introduction to fly fishing for the native Appalachian brook trout. That is the real jewel of the Smokies, and a nearly spiritual experience to catch one, admire and release it back into the pristine waters of a high mountain stream.
I can evnision the inspiration to her jewerly that seeing one of these slipping back into the stream from her hand would bring about. Warning, it can be addictive and lead to other vices such as fly tying and hiking high into the mountians of western North Carolina. Almost as bad as deer hunting!
I fished a few times with my dad when I was little. I remember enjoying it but also having a hard time being still long enough to catch anything. I can see Katie liking fishing, she loves the water and dare I mention there is a very nice guy helping her learn!
Wow, just reading about your ventures are memory jogging. It is such a shame that children are not encouraged to listen and look. The sounds and sights are going away and you can never hear the sounds in ‘real life’ that you can on film. Oh such a joy. Also, the Blessing you have of passing along the sights and sounds of your actual voices. I would love to hear, actually hear, the sounds of relatives and/or friends who have passed. Yes I can remember what they said, but not the actual sounds of their voice. You have also rekindled my love for the fun of being on the water..the stillness of the lake or river and the joy of feeling the tug on the line. As far as Katie, her soap is the best, and I am nearing time to reorder. Give you Mom my best. Stay well and safe and getting ready for the snow I hope you have. God Bless
This brought back a lot of good memories Miss Tipper! I was taught at a very early age how to fish, how to clean fish as well as how to cook fish and have eaten my share of fish over my 55 years on earth. I to remember riding on my dad & my Grandaddy’s backs through the weeds when I was really young & then remember when I got a little bigger they would go ahead of me like Pap
did for Steve & Paul and clear the way ! Seems like back in the day we had more time to do things like fishing & other hobbies unlike today unfortunately. I pray that Katie continues to pursue her desire to become a successful fisherwoman lol and make those lures like the ones she showed us at the campground. She should have no problem selling some of those.
I love to go fishing, but I don’t actually fish. When I went with my Dad when I was younger, I was told whatever I caught I had to clean. That ended my days of holding the pole. But I do love to tag along with whoever is going to hold their own pole. I love sitting by the water, just being outside in the beautiful surroundings is thrilling to me. I bring whatever hand sewing project I am working on, my fold up chair, and my joy of being outdoors. I love having a picnic by the water, and most of all – the excitement of when someone catches a fish! I can just see Paul’s happiness at catching that big carp! And your excitement in trying to help him by bringing it up to him. I think it is great that Katie has embraced this new hobby! I love Katie’s work that she does in her shop. Her jewelry is beyond beautiful. And I know her spinners are unequaled in quality, too. Thank you for this fun post! It brought back many memories of fishing trips to the ocean in San Diego, Lake Cuyamaca and many other fishing spots around the county there. I need to find someone heading off to fish and tag along again. It’s been awhile since I have had that escape into a quiet day by the water! As a kid, I looked forward to those days being with my Dad and brothers.
Donna. : )