{"id":19276,"date":"2023-02-08T00:25:02","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T00:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=19276"},"modified":"2023-02-07T19:26:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T19:26:01","slug":"skunked-by-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/08\/skunked-by-fish\/","title":{"rendered":"Skunked by Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bryce Angell – The outdoors has always been a large part of my life. My father was an outfitter and guide for 35 years and I was there to shoe and care for the horses and help him do the cooking. We took many great trips into the Yellowstone area. Even now that I\u2019m older, we still ride into the Tetons, Yellowstone and surrounding areas. My poems are mostly of personal experience. I am now retired and enjoying life to the fullest. I plan to do more riding and writing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our drive was two long hours, then we parked next to the stream. I\u2019d waited for this day to come. \u2018Twas almost like a dream.<\/p>\n

I saddled up old Cyruss. He was ready for a ride. We\u2019d chosen South Boone Trailhead and we\u2019d fish along creekside.<\/p>\n

My good friend rode a sorrel, his four-year-old Arab mare. We\u2019d rode this trail so many times. No way to count, I swear.<\/p>\n

We always caught a mess of fish. The fishing was the best. Just bait your hook and toss the line. The fish would do the rest.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d fry the trout in butter, heat a can of cream-style corn. Then fill the pan with spuds, two cowboys cooking up a storm.<\/p>\n

But this time we didn\u2019t use our brains and set a lofty goal. We took no food, just sleeping bags, some worms and a fishing pole.<\/p>\n

We figured we\u2019d be eating fish at dinnertime that night. But those danged old fish were sneaky. They just wouldn\u2019t take a bite.<\/p>\n

They say to spit right on your worm. It\u2019s known to bring good luck. But all it did was make the worm too slippery for the hook.<\/p>\n

We fished all afternoon and every cast turned to a waste. Two cowboys\u2019 bellies would be growling, not a fish to taste.<\/p>\n

That night while in my sleeping bag, I couldn\u2019t fall asleep. I had to find some food, darned sure was feeling six feet deep.<\/p>\n

So, I rustled through my bags and found a year-old Snickers treat. A mouse had chewed one end off, but still left a bite to eat.<\/p>\n

I split the piece of candy, gave my pardner half the cut. Then popped the piece of chocolate in our mouths right to the gut.<\/p>\n

Our tiny piece of Snickers bar was heaven to the taste. Especially for two grown-up men whose brains were made of paste.<\/p>\n

The morning light came early. We both cast a desperate line. Not a single fish was biting. So I took that as a sign.<\/p>\n

I tore my pole apart and stuffed it in my saddlebags. Then saddled up old Cyruss \u2018fore my stomach turned to rags.<\/p>\n

Well, I guess I\u2019ve learned a lesson. Carry in your favorite dish. And when it comes to fishing, you ain\u2019t smarter than the fish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our drive was two long hours, then we parked next to the stream. I\u2019d waited for this day to come. \u2018Twas almost like a dream. I saddled up old Cyruss. He was ready for a ride. We\u2019d chosen South Boone Trailhead and we\u2019d fish along creekside. My good friend rode a sorrel, his four-year-old Arab […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160,2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19276","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-cowboy-poetry","7":"category-commentary"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19276"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19277,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19276\/revisions\/19277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}