Editor's Note: July 2008

Author: Maggie Washo

I love to fish. I don’t know exactly when this became a hobby, but most recently I’ve begun to think I may be addicted. For a while my friends humored me by tagging along. Now they may think it’s getting a little out of control.

I keep fishing poles and a tackle box in the back of my car at all times now. You just never know when you may stumble across a pond at that magical hour right before dusk when the bass are jumping and the sun is setting.

At first I had a hard time with the worms. They just squirm too much when you are putting them on the hook. Just when I had the art of hooking a worm mastered, I accidentally left the container of Canadian Night Crawlers in my car overnight. Let me tell you, the smell of cooked worms could strip paint off of a wall!

I figured after that it was just best to stick with artificial lures. Hula Poppers aplenty, Rapalas galore. Screw tails, yep. Two different colors. I even have a Bitsy Bug Mini Jig. I don’t know what it does, but I have one.

And then there’s ocean fishing. This time of year it’s hard to catch anything besides sharks, but even that’s fun. Watch out for the teeth, get the hook out quickly so the fish doesn’t suffer, release back into the wild (Sounds kinda like dating, doesn’t it?)

If you’re looking for a new hobby, I highly recommend buying a fishing pole, getting a fishing license (and if you already have one, it expired yesterday) and heading to the nearest pond or dock. You might not catch anything, but you’ll be better for the experience, I promise.

Fishing. One of my favorite parts of Lowcountry livin’.