— always barbless catch & release —
high overhead
flexing expectantly
quick twist of my wrist
the rod arcs forward
increasing the pressure
on my fingertip
it whips ahead
urgently
demanding release
with precise pluck
like a string
on a guitar
lure’s launched
eagerly seeking possibility
rob kistner © 2020
8.5 lbs trout I caught on 2 lbs ultralight
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Oh, I love this. My son is both an avid fisherman, and a guitar player. I love the “pluck” that connects the two. So good.
Very cool about your son De. He will have the guitar now as a friend for life. If he currently plays electric but doesn’t have an acoustic — a Martin acoustic might be a great instrument to consider. My son is a drummer, though he only does it as an avocation now. His business keeps him busy.
ah I watch many fisherman out front but the fish here are onto them and have perfected the art of collecting bait but not getting hooked!
They have fishy Trout friends just like them here in the Pacific Northwest. I don’t use bait, but the little buggers sure know how to get “un-hooked”. Of course I have barbless hooks on my lures, so it gives them an advantage — which in fairness, I’m glad to provide.
Oh, I love this Rob. You’re such a great wordsmith!
Thank you so much Lucy… 🙂
Happy fishing Rob?
Much????love
Thank you Gillena… 🙂
You can get more mileage out of 44 words than anyone, Rob. Well penned!
Thank you Bev… 🙂 I write what I am inspired to write, initially without thinking about word count, then I edit and revise my way to 44. This piece started out at 83 words. Then I discarded what wasn’t necessary to say what was on my mind.
I love how this creates such a vivid picture–that “pluck” stands out.
thank you Merril… 🙂 …that tactile “pluck” triggers the exciting anticipation!
Really nice description of the feel of fishing.
Thank you Debi… 🙂
I used to fish waaaaay more than I have in a number of years now. The fishing up here on Vermont’s Canadian border is great, if you enjoy catching the elusive fur-bearing lake trout.
And you MUST catch and release.
Nicely penned, RK
Thank you Ron. I am in fishing for the zen f it! Way up to a mountain lake to be one with nature!
I might have known you’d be an avid fisherman, as well as an outdoorsman and artist and musician (etc.) I did a lot of fishing as a kid, but I valued the fellowship more than the sport. Your poem soars, whistles and whips its way into our hearts.
Read my comments here Glenn and you will see that I love the essence, trappings. Cerdmony and the escape of fishing on wild open lakes!
Very vivid imagery, I enjoyed it :))
Thsnk you M Jay… 🙂
Seems it is about precision and you caught a great fish. I’m glad that
line didn’t snap.
Precision, great patience, and deep relaxation. True. I love it. The catch of the gish thdn to release it is like making friends from another world — very cool!
My son is also a keen fisherman – first time out fishing (in the sea) he caught 17 – more than any of the grown men! So many possibilities – lovely.
I share with you whar I wrote above to Kim — and I add that it is a marvelous relax commune with nature featuring wild water!!
I’ve never felt the urge to fish, Rob, and don’t know any female anglers, but you make it sound exciting and full of possibilities. I like the guitar simile.
Fishing is a zen state of mind when done casually. It is reaching from one world into completely different world with one thin thread of possible communication to see if someone from that silent other alien world wants to connect. And when it happens, it then becomes a mystery experience in which you wonder with great anticipation, what exactly has reached out to you. Very zen and very ethereally exploratory. Great atmosphere in which to wonder and write at a most amazingly stimulating freedom
Wow- How cool Rob! I’ve never done that type of fishing, but I grew up fishing in the rivers of Texas, mostly with a cane pole or a rod and reel. There is nothing like the thrill of catching a fish.
My dad introduced me to short-cast, light tackle fishing when
I was a young boy. Now there is an entire segment of spinning rod&reel fishing called ultralight. It is a true exciting challenge catching game fish, like bass and the trout I caught pictured in this post, on very lightweight tackle. To make it even more fun I use barbless hooks on my lures. That way, it demands a deft technique to get the fish landed. That trout you see me holding in the photo, broke my ultralight fishing rod off at my handle, and I fought it for nearly an hour, in light rapids, holding only the rod’s handle, with ultralight reel still attached. I was using 2 lbs test line. It was a blast! 🙂
ooooh did you really catch that???
Loved these lines especially
“with precise pluck
like a string
on a guitar”
Just the perfect way of describing what I imagine to be the sound of the lure landing….you made me hear it! And oh my yes…..those who fish are forever within the seas of possibility!
Yes, I caught it in a mountain river in Oregon. Actually that pluck is the sensation one feels on the tip of their finger as they let go of the fishing line at the moment of the cast. The weight of the lure creates tension on the “free” fishing line as the weight of the lure comes forward overhead towards the water. The tension of the line feels very much like a taut guitar string, and the snap-roll of the fingertip to instantly release it feels very much like plucking a resonant guitar string – there is even a very very quiet note released at that instant.
A masterpiece on the (al)lure of fishing. I loved this! You have crafted this with sensory finesse, an active joyful tension.
Thank you Fora! 🙂
I never had the patience for fishing, but after your description, I understand it a lot better… what excitement.
Fishing, as I used to do it Bjorn, was like zen meditation — with an occasional outburst of exhilaration when a creature from the deep calls on you.
The step by step blow by blow works beautifully here!!
Glad it worked for you Helen… 🙂