convict lake  california fall 2009

trout fishing

a summer interlude

fishing for rainbow trout inthe high sierras

hiking  scrambling among rocks and dusty trails

one back pack   one slender pole

i don't know about you -- but i

prefer to fish on early mornings -- cold mornings

brushing the frost off my sleeping bag

i saunter to the lake's edge to find a rock to sit on

must be just right -- where the sun lights one's face

and  large enough to take a nap on.

people have their own way of fishing

me?  i prefer fishing with live worms

those neon day-glo excuses for salmon eggs

could attract trout?  geez. there are no day_glo thingies

growing out of the lake bottom    are there?

flicking the baited line with just the right parabola

and momentum  -- just poetry    just poetry

i could do this all day -- changing velocities

angles of release   varying revolutions of reeling in

the line    over and over again

playing out my stressess   unexplained tensions

unanswered phone calls   unnecessary guilts

undefined needs

if i do not catch anything

i played the lines  and who cares anyway

but if i do  __ aha!

i can gut fish with style

and finesse of a benihana chef

dinner will be truite bleu

sierra hash brown  white wine fresh tomatoes

tonight, in the high mountains with you, my love

that's pretty close to heaven

(c) zita evensen

3 august 1993

post script -- sept 13 2010

Fishing was great !  W caught a three pound Alpers trout  at a lake about 10,000 ft above sea level.

Apparently, the bears are very restless this late summer. One huge brown wandered near the fishing area -- grab a fish from a lady's catch and  proceeded to saunter nonchalantly around the campground -- as if he was on a Sunday stroll. People were following him with cameras. Others were hurrying  to clear as much space  away from the bear. I jumped in my car . This was one day I did not bring my camera.