"People who claim to own "fishing dogs" are all blinded by love. There's no such thing as a good fishing dog."
- John Gierach
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| Ripley, meet Brown |
Today, I took Ripley fishing for the first time. She'd been in the house for a few days and was a bit stir crazy so she got a walk and I got to fish. Sort of.
I couldn't fish the spot that I wanted to fish. That spot requires a walk across a field liberally strewn with poison ivy. I'm allergic as hell and didn't want my dog covered in the stuff.
So, we hiked a bit and fished a small pool that's been good in the past.
Ants now look like food to trout because I brought one to hand on a black ant on the second cast. Of course, the next thirty casts yielded nothing. So maybe it was just a fluke. But it should be ant and hopper time very soon.
Ripley was totally disinterested in the splashy fight and even when I brought the fish to hand she still wasn't interested all that much. I had to call her over for a look.
As far as a fishing dog, she wasn't too bad. She did get in the water briefly, but not where I was fishing. Mostly she just hung around staring at me like I was an idiot waving a stick around in the air instead of throwing it so she could retrieve it.
The one and only time I disagreed with Gierach. Sounds like you got a good fishing dog on your hands. As for that look of "what the hell are you doing" - been there,seen that on many a 4 footed friend. Way to go Ripley ;)
ReplyDeleteI figured this post was right up your alley. You'll have to train that puppy well.
DeleteThe most I've seen of all the trout and striper dogs I know is that they "might" lick the fish. That would put Ripley right up there with the best of them. The rest of them, they just look at you expectantly, but for what? I have no clue.
ReplyDeleteMark
Well, I count myself lucky. She's a perfect dog on other counts too.
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