Watch: Fishermen Regret Going out the Second the Hail Starts
There are fishermen … and then there are fishermen.
Anyone who’s ever watched one of those nifty reality shows regarding commercial watermen on the Bering Sea, or a backwoods Alaskan family where one of the socially-inept offspring delights in beating salmon to death, we’re all reminded of the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared.
After all, nature is very unforgiving and plays no favorites.
As posted by Craig Raleigh of the everything outdoors website Wide Open Spaces notes, if you’re planning on hitting the water, you’d best be ready for whatever Mother Nature throws your way.
Case in point would be the rather painful video Raleigh posted.
As Raleigh penned, “When it starts to hail out on the water and you’ve got nowhere to go, you’ll wish that you brought a hardhat. Fishermen know better than anyone that it can be sunny and nice outside one second, and the clouds can turn black the next.”
The outdoorsman/journalist added, “When it’s hail that’s coming down, you’ll be looking for anything within reach to cover your head, but you may be stuck with only your hands. I mean there’s a bucket and a cooler and some kind of plastic container sitting right there, but I guess you just tell yourself to cover up and take it.”
While the nationalities of the fishermen aren’t cited, there is an Australian flag on the cooler Raleigh noted onboard. Either the fishermen are really big Paul Hogan fans, or simply just a couple of patriotic Aussies.
As far as making out their accents, forget it. Screams of pain don’t know any particular accent or dialect.
But back to the cooler in question. As Raleigh had previously asked, why the angler just didn’t dump the contents and use it as an ersatz-hardhat remains a mystery.
Either the fight-or-flight response kicked into high-gear and the poor guy just froze, or he’s proving to the world he’s a true Australian.
After all, would any real Aussie dump his tinnies of Darwin Stubby into a roiling sea just to protect mind and body? Hardly.
But back to being prepared for any eventuality while casting a line, some do away with the line altogether. As the New York Times reported a few years ago, there is “a cherished tradition” in Vermont that has traditional anglers up in arms (no pun intended).
As reported, “Fish shooting is a sport in Vermont, and every spring, hunters break out their artillery — high-caliber pistols, shotguns, even AK-47’s — and head to the marshes to exercise their right to bear arms against fish.”
For those who may find the price of 7.62×39mm a bit on the cost-prohibitive side, there’s always the Redneck Fishing Tournament in Bath, Illinois.
To combat the invasive Asian carp from wiping out native fish that range from Louisiana to Minnesota, the good folks of Bath have a novel method for beating the daylights out of the unwanted fish. Just show up with a net and a baseball bat. Take that, Bear Brown.
But not only are the Asian carp wiping out ‘Murican fish, they’re renowned for going haywire by the sound of boat engines. And with their little carp brains flipping-out, so do the rest of carp.
Known for jumping out of the water, these carp have caused more than a few black eyes and busted noses with their antics.
Maybe hardhats and fishing really do go together.
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