Knapp: Taking a moment to count my blessings out on Lake Arthur
One of the sayings I’ve heard and read over the years is “there’s a lot more to fishing than just catching fish.”
The implication is the activity brings with it secondary benefits that often outweigh the primary objective.
This occurred to me recently when John Galida, of Butler, joined me for a morning of crappie fishing on Lake Arthur. If you’re old enough, you’ll recall Galida’s Sporting Goods along Route 422 just east of Moraine State Park. It was the showcase of hunting and fishing equipment in a day prior to big box megastores and online sales. Today, he keeps busy producing his iconic “Galida’s Grubz,” a heavily ribbed twister tail grub that functions delightfully as both a swimbait and a bottom-bouncing jig body.
And while the store was impressive, John’s reputation as a skilled angler was also part of the picture, especially on his home water of Lake Arthur.
As a friend and supporter of my guide service, John has joined me several times on the Allegheny for smallmouth bass. This time, however, rain and storms had left the river in questionable shape for our outing. I threw out the option of hitting Arthur for crappies, and he eagerly agreed.
Not surprisingly, John has a strong history of catching crappies from Arthur, often running up the numbers with his late friend, Jerry Swidzinski. I didn’t expect we’d rival their catches, but that was of little consequence to either one of us.
As the morning unfolded, we put crappies in the boat — John more than me. But a lot more than fishing was taking place.
As we worked our way from spot to spot, John shared with me his experiences with Jerry as well as Jeff Barkley, another of John’s fishing partners who left this world too soon. John would take in the surroundings and note a good spot for crappies here, another good one for bass there. And over that way, a submerged hump with a history of producing walleyes.
It was clear that the day meant a lot to him from a nostalgia standpoint, though he was eager to put enough crappies in the livewell to provide a nice meal for later that evening.
As the years pile up faster than I’d sometimes like, it’s interesting to note the ways in which we appreciate our blessings.
For a younger man, putting a lot of fish in the boat or in hand seems important. The bigger the better.
As life experiences stack up, though, our perspective often changes. We tend to cherish the mere opportunity to continue to do what we love, oftentimes overcoming the inevitable physical limitations that are a part of aging. Outings are flavored with bittersweet seasoning of who is still here, and who is not.
John and I fished at a leisurely pace, idling unhurriedly from spot to spot. The day had started off cloudy and the fish bit well. As the clouds cleared and the sun appeared, things slowed a bit, but that was of little consequence.
We’d accomplished what we’d set out to do, though no clear objective had been spelled out. I believe we both left with a feeling of satisfaction.
Having fished for several decades under a wide variety of circumstances, what stands out the most is the marvel of our creation, which in my mind is not the product of happenstance but rather that of an intelligent creator. It’s the basis of my faith. And a blessing it is when I get to experience this creation with others.
Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.
