FISHING FOLLIES ...

Once again it's time for a few laughs so take a minute and enjoy this
edition of "FISHING FOLLIES"

Here are some things that I have learned, the hard way, over time:

1. Bait Casting reels make better bird nests than birds do.

2. Grabbing a hellgrammite carelessly will cause great pain. (See picture)

3. Wading in moving water, on slippery rocks, can turn you into a floater.

4. Falling asleep while driving a boat is the quickest way to shore.

5. Submerged logs are boat magnets.

6. It is hard to hide from lighting in the middle of a lake. (See picture)

7. Bees will fly two miles off the coast just to irritate you.

8. The wind always blows in the opposite direction you want to go.

9. There is always someone in my secret spots. (see picture)

10. Power windows easily break unbreakable fishing rods.

And now we continue with ...

"The Saga of the Black Fury"

 Many years ago, my buddy Rick and I were preparing for a trip to Canada. This included research to determine what the "hot" lure for Walleye was at the time. Finally, after many interrogating phone calls to the Great White North, it was obvious that we should cancel the whole trip unless we had a lure called the "Black Fury". Strangely enough, we also found out that this particular lure was not available across the border.

 Manufactured by Mepps, the "Black Fury" (see picture) is a beautiful in-line spinner type of lure. Attached to the shinny brass body is a spinning blade painted in brilliant black and adorned with yellow or red dots. Red plastic beads separate the blade from the deadly treble hook at the business end. Our tackle boxes were stuffed with every lure under the sun except for this Mepps Black Fury spinner thing. With no time left to order from a catalog we began our quest with the soul intention of buying every last one in the Tri-State area!

 The primary and first stop was a local fishing tackle shop that, without fail, always had everything. Upon bursting through the door with frantic anticipation we stated our goal to the shop owner. Without a word his body language made it obvious that his stock did not include even one "Black Fury". Ok, so now it was on to plan "B" which was another tackle store on the other side of the county. Now this was before cell phones and stopping at a phone booth would just waste time. The two hour ride would surely be worth it in the end and besides we had to get these lures before the word got out!

 Now this next place was basically a weathered wooden shack set off to the side of the owners home. He primarily sold live bait but behind the shabby exterior we always found what we wanted. Parking in the stone driveway we eagerly jumped from the truck with uncontrolled excitment. Standing near the padlocked doors of the shop we knew that it might take a few minutes until we were noticed from within the main house. Finally the door opened and the proprietor slowly limped down the five steps to the driveway. I wanted to scream BLACK FURY, BLACK FURY, WE WANT BLACK FURYS ! It was, however, polite to offer a kind hello, hand shake and some other chit chat before getting down to business. After all of that and voicing our request he turned the key on the padlock and slid the barn type door open. It wasn't until then that he spoke the words that we hoped not to hear. "Well boys", he said, "I don't have any Black Furys but you can look around". Ah, show us the candy in hopes we find something else was this guys intention. We jumped back in my truck and made a three point turn in his gravel driveway with one turn of the wheel. Stones flew from the rear tires as we exited his property!

 Panic had set in and we knew that we only had one more shot. Off to the "BigK" we went. Our stride was fast and direct. The upright fishing poles in the far corner of the store were now locked in our sights. Would the two rows of fishing lures hold the Holy Grail? To save time I took the first row and Rick searched the other. This was the first time ever that the other lures did not distract me in my intense search. Then I heard his voice from the other side, "I found 'em!", he yelled. As I galloped around the end of the aisle I hoped no one was standing there for they would surely be knocked over. I continued my whirlwind pace to where Rick was now kneeling with pressed palms and bowed head. Sure enough, there hung the coveted MEPPS BLACK FURYS. Not one or two but six rows full of them in all the different sizes! It was a glorious site to behold and we quickly cleared the display leaving only empty metal hangers.

 Fast forward to Canada.... After hours of trolling with the Black Fury and getting no result we changed to a simple one-eighth ounce jig head and night crawler. This, not the Black Fury, resulted in a full stringer of tasty Canadian Walleyes! The "Saga of the Mepps Black Fury" will forever be remembered as a lesson in the magic lure myth.

Thanks for taking time to visit my blog.

You might like my YouTube fishing videos too. 

Here is the link ...

LEN F ... YouTube Channel