The Sportsman's Corner
By Bob Cox, Mountain Valley News staff
Getting anything free seems like a good plan, but I am not sure that many people are taking advantage of a couple of days of free fishing.
As a means to promote fishing and family involvement, the Division of Wildlife adopted one weekend per year when those who normally need to purchase a fishing license are given temporary amnesty and allowed to fish without a license.
Normally, I try to avoid the most popular fishing places during any weekend. With a few exceptions, I prefer privacy when I am fishing. One of those exceptions is when I take a youngster with me and devote my time to helping with the basics. Another exception is a planned family outing when nearly everyone is fishing. I also enjoy taking my wife and just sitting next to a lake or pond.
But, for the past few years, I have gone out on the free fishing weekend; not necessarily to go fishing, but to find those who are taking advantage of the opportunity. So far, the results have been a little disappointing.
This last weekend (June 4-5) I visited several popular fishing spots. Of the dozen or so people I talked to I found one that was fishing because of the free weekend. I also talked to one young couple. He had a license. She did not. The young man told me that he “might let her fish.” I had to resist the temptation to give this guy a little lesson on compatibility. I had to wonder if he “let” her wear shoes.
Anyway, it seems to me that, either the word is not getting out, or those that really want to fish buy a license well before the scheduled free weekend. My research is certainly not scientific by any stretch of the imagination, and some of the information I get from my DOW friends seems to conflict with mine, but I have had the same results now for at least four years.
I have a somewhat unique opportunity to do what I like to do. I can almost always find an excuse to go fishing. If everything else fails, I can simply say I need to do some research for this column. Usually, all I have to do is decide that I need to go fishing.
The opportunities abound and I cannot fathom anyone not taking advantage of them. While I tend to concentrate on what we have available here in Western Colorado, the same and sometimes I have to admit, better opportunities exist almost everywhere. Fishing is not a complicated or necessarily expensive pastime. Fishing can be fun with something as simple as a cane pole or as complicated as a strap-in seat on a deep-sea fishing boat. The secret is to go.
I don’t know how many times I have quoted Izaak Walton, but one of my favorites on his part is: Doubt not that angling will prove to be so pleasant that it will prove to be, like a virtue, a reward to itself.
He also said, “I have laid aside business, and gone fishing.” That, friends is a good course to follow.
