good, bad and ugly

[CrappieJohn]

We all tend to have our favorite fish and think that, regardless of what they actually look like, they are simply the best fish around. I know that crappie/sunfish, walleye/sauger, and lake trout/salmon are my favorite....the order depending on what I am currently fishing. Nonetheless, these are attractrive fish in my eye.

Some people may think that the basses or muskies are beauts. Others go for the northerns and some will even find beauty in the catfish. Stream trout are simply some of the most stunning fish to be found in fresh water in the eyes of many.

This being said, why do we have the others....those that are not so nice to look at and then those that are pure horrors to have our eyes fall upon? Why do we have the good, the bad, and the ugly? I have my theory.

Those fish that we tend to favor seem to always look better to us. We find character in them. We revel in what makes them tick. We go to extremes just to make contact with them and if they come up short they are still "beautiful" fish. And little could ever be done to change our minds about how they look.

Everyonce in a while when we are chasing our water hidden charms we will come across something that's not quite as savory to the eye or the taste buds. All of you know what I mean....you are trolling the newest, hottest shadrap in classic structure for that elusive 11 pound walleye when wham!....your dreams get shattered as you haul in a five pound sheepshead. Or the jig meant to entice some crappies for the table ends up enticing a white bass, and then another, and another. Ever get to wondering why it is that "these" fish will hit and your beloved will not? Think we can't get any lower? Think again!

Now I don't know how many of you have caught a dogfish, gar or an eel. I have on all accounts. And I can attest to their being downright ugly. The eel will fall into the catagory of being obnoxious. Trust me, none of these fish belong in one's net, let alone the boat. They will make a smart-looking angler appear to have a genetic defect of some sort. You don't stand up and say,"hey, looky here at what I just got" or " holy moly, look at this dandy" even if they are book material. Speaking from experience, you try to avoid drawing attention to yourself as you figure a way to kill the beast and not have to touch it to get it out of the boat....if you didn't cut the line BEFORE it actually got in the boat. Hence the classic phrase, "been there, done that" (You never find yourself saying that when you catch your favorite fish).

Now I think that if life is good and you've been very nice in the eyes of the many you have to deal with daily, you will indeed catch those fish which you actually WANT to catch...those you call your favorites. If you've been on the line with life, you might have to put up with a few of those that you consider to be an aggrevation. And if you catch those of the ugly designation, you maybe better go home and find out what you did wrong. Realistically, if you didn't catch a few of the middle-of-the-road stuff, you'd get a big head. And if you didn't have days when you went home because all you caught were unmentionable, you'd have nothing to be thankful for when you did do good. Or half good. Anymore, my druthers have a specific order....I rather be catching crappie with a whitebass tossed in now and then instead of dogfish and I'd really prefer that sheepshead over an eel. And of course there is my dream where I catch nothing but what I am fishing for.

I seldom have to worry about these things when I'm ice fishing. I'm usually too busy wondering why I am out there in the first place. Now open water....this is life. Unfettered and free. And, of course, full of the the unexpected....some of which is downright ugly.

[FisherMissis]

Well written, CT...a fisherman AND a Wordsmith!

[LEECH21]

I believe all fish are beautiful, even the dogfish! I don't mind catching a sheephead, carp, or gar...all great fun. I've never caught a eel or eelpout, but I'm sure I'd love it. I really don't have ONE or TWO favorites. I love them all!

[Ole1855]

CrappieTom,

Well written, I enjoyed it and you are right, you occassionally get something unexpected on the end of your line. I was fishing with a buddy on the Mississippi below lock #3 a few years back, my buddy says, "There, I finally hooked one", he brought it in and low and behold on the other end of the line is a 16"-18" MUD PUPPY!!! He yells at me, "What the HE!! is that"!!! I told him and I think it took him all of 10 seconds to get out his jackknife and cut the line. The look on his face was priceless!!

Ole

[Matt Johnson]

Great article Tom! A fun read.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Bobb-o]

am i the only one who has ever intentionally fished for dogfish then? man do they put up a fight!!

[Farley]

I know what you're sayin Crappie Tom, it's happened more than one or two times but the one I remember most was last summer trolling lindys on Collingwood, we had caught a few nice "keeper" walleyes and then I hooked into a nice one. Fought it for probably 5 minutes or so before I got a look at it. My buddy had the net in hand and I was so excited, because we saw a flash of gold at one point in the fight. Needless to say it wasnt a walleye at all, but a big ol, ugly, beadie eyed CARP!!! Oh well, we ate walleyes that night anyway so that made up for the heart break.

[Wayne Ek]

C.T. well written article and a fun read. You should consider submitting it to Mid-West Outdoors, they like shorter articles. When I first caught the title I thought you were going to write about some of my ex-partners on the force, ( just joking guys ). If you want the submission e-mail drop me a line... And Bobb-o thank you... I don't appreciate a doggy when I'm tournament fishing, but they are a hard fighter and I think fun to tangle at any other time.

['eyesmaster89]

There are fish that I hate sometimes, one of them is the rockbass. I don't care what you say, but sometimes they really get annoying when your trolling for walleyes and you can hardly get your line down. But man those dogfish put up a fight. Sometimes if the fishin is ever a little slow, I just putz around in the shallows lookin for some dogfish. Try using light tackle that you would use for panfish, then they really put up a fight.

[delmuts]

very will written Tom !