Fishing Is Harder Than It Seems

So something I decided that I'd do more this year was be outdoors. Not Century City shopping mall outdoors, but nature outdoors. You know - trees, lakes, all sorts of animals - that type of stuff. A great way to get myself out there is to go fishing.

I head over to the Big 5 to get my fishing license and dust off my fishing pole. Now all I have to do is drive over to the local lake, cast a line, and wait for the fish to fight over my delectable offerings - right?

Apparently it didn't quite work out that way. Two days, two different places, and zero fish.

The journey started at Walmart in search of the equipment I need. Luckily Jeff A. was kind enough to diagram for me what I needed to buy. I guess different fish eat different foods in different ways. Who knew?

Another thing I needed to decide was where to go. I can either go freshwater or saltwater. Umm, freshwater. Then I have to decide lake or river. Well, I have no idea where a river is so that settles that decision. Being new to this, after all that, I still had no idea where I would go. I heard of Castaic Lake and it's less than an hour away so why not?
That place is huge. I think many people there actually take boats out to fish (SUVs actually getting a workout!). Being boatless, we drive around the lake to find where other people are fishing along the shore. That was the strategy since I know of no "secret spots". Pilfering other's "secret spots" seemed like the way to go. After 4 hours and a long nap, I have nothing. I don't feel too bad because from what I surveyed, no one around me caught anything either. I did learn some important lessons. Dress in layers. Temperatures seem to change by 15 degrees or so. But the most important lesson learned was to pack a lunch. All I had to eat was Chicken in a Biscuit and that did not cut it. Next time I'm coming armed with hogies, cheese, and pate.

The next day I still had the bug. This time I head out there with a full stomach and 4 hours worth of experience. We go to Kenneth Hanh park. It's really close (15 minutes) and supposedly stocked with trout. After having a parking space stolen from us even though our signal was signaling toward the space a car was pulling out from and after few choice suggestions to mister space stealer, we are on our way to set up shop.
This place was small. It was basically an urban pond. The result: not even a nibble. Not so for these kids fishing next to us. I think I saw 6 catfish in their possession. I think those ugly things are nasty, but any catch would have been welcome at this point. Then I would take that catfish and place it atop the parking space stealing car.

Even with these past two experiences, I will not be deterred. I think I'll go to some mom and pop fishing store and chit chat about which places are worth trying and what bait to use. I might even get myself one of those khaki vest with a bunch of pockets. In those pockets I will put various gummy items: worms, bears, sour bears... Those fish can swim, but they can't hide. Someday they will be mine. Oh yes, they will be mine.