10 inches

We all have fishing buddies..... and they fish, for that is what they like to do. Some of them even come home with fish 'caught' in the lake or stream, others stop off at the store and purchase a few trout from the grocery and simply strip off all elements that provide evidence of being store bought. 

But this fisherman here, his name was Hank....caught a nice fish the other day at Forsythe. He is allowed to fish in the refuge, I was told. He had on nice wading boots and while he was void of lure and pole, he managed to do just nicely as he caught this beautiful 10" fish. He would do very well on 'Naked and Afraid.'

So, this is how it all came down.  I hung around the dog-leg area the other day and spotted Hank out on the pond, just prior to the tree. He had his catch in his mouth as Hank must have left his gear on the bank. But he was slowly making his way to the bank. Notice the way he picks up each foot out of the water, entirely....prior to placing it back in again as he made strides for the shore. 

Once ashore,....one of his buddies came over to see what he caught. The fish tumbled to the ground but Hank here, speared it with his beak. Then, he walked behind a bush and configured the fish just right, so it went 'down' head first. All the way down.....

Then.....while a 10" is a mighty large portion, since he had no salad or potato to go with it, Hank was still hungry. So, Hank picked up his feet and waded out to the same spot he just was in and started fishing again. The process of watching him made me hungry, so I shoved on.