Great job guys - thanks for the pics!
-
Ghazanfar Ghori
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ty Hall
> Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 3:13 PM
> To: Nanfa
> Subject: NANFA-- The Marsh
>
>
> Follow us as we chronical a journey deep into the wild
> cranberry bogs of
> North Central Wisconsin. Our crew's simple goals; to do some
> dip netting
> and some
> good old fashion hook and line fishing.
>
> Our trio of explorers was made up of names known throughout the world
> (well to the Nanfa list any ways) Ray Wolff, who served as guide,
> keeping us safe from the natives on our harrowing journey. Sajjad
> Lateef, from the flat lands of a place called Illinois, who despite
> having Illinois plates on his car, risked life and limb to travel deep
> into Packer country, in search of the dangerous Mud Minnow. Last and
> certainly least, Ty Hall, a larger then life character
> (especially in a
> sideview) and the teller of this tall tale.
>
> Our journey started on a particularly risky note as we ventured to a
> place the locals call "The Country Kitchen". There Ray and Ty
> took on a
> great risk and both had the Breakfast Buffet, a fools play to be sure
> and one that Ray would live to regret. Sajjad, the smart one of the
> group, played it safe and watched us from the
> convenience of his "cooked-to-order" breakfast.
>
> From there we traveled deep into the heart of the Marsh. The
> Marsh is a
> mysterious place, filled with danger at every curve and pot hole. We
> traveled down roads
> that probably hadn't seen another human being in hours. Deeper and
> deeper we drove. We were at least three miles from Ray's house when we
> made our first stop. Here we hoped to tangle with the dreaded Creek
> Chub. The Creek Chub, creature of legend (and damn fine
> Northern Bait).
> But it was not to be. Try as we might, the Creek Chub would not rest
> from his hiding place. Instead we tangled with the infamous
> Crappie and
> equally dangerous Walleye. Also noted at this place was the
> ever elusive baby Small Mouthed Bass. Having witnessed these creatures
> and managing to escape unharmed we pressed on.
>
> 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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> / Association"
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http://www.nanfa.org
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org