Logan Daily News

Net Watch
by Bob Green

Howdy! Step right into my virtual pickup truck and shove the garbage to the side. Don't pay any mind to the cans and junk on the floor. Today we're going to take a good old boy's ride into the Internet. With springtime fighting its way out of winter, it's getting about time to grab ahold of the good stuff warmer weather brings. For folks that like to get out and enjoy the out of doors, Hocking County is about the perfect place to be. From hundreds of thousands of acres of State Parks and public lakes to countless farm ponds and private properties, the selection for outdoor activities is nearly endless. Hunting, fishing, hiking, mushroom hunting, rappelling, biking and listening to country licks on the radio along the way are just a few of the pleasures we have to choose from. Most of those activities are enjoyable when the weather's right, but when it turns nasty I head for a dry spot. A person has the choice of plopping down in front of the tube and wasting an afternoon, or they can turn on the computer and go to some of the sites in the Internet. Who knows, you might just pick up a tip to bring in that big lunker that's been toying with your affections and stealing your bait.

This has nothing to do with the Internet, but I really enjoy our area of the country. There's a favorite old forgotten farm pond that I like to hit a couple of times a year (with the owner's permission of course). To get there is a little dangerous and requires some good old country boy skills. My wife went with me once and doesn't care to go back. The first obstacle is a pasture occupied with cows and occasionally a cranky bull. Judging the distance between the bull and the barbed wire fence at the other end of the pasture, your venture begins by climbing up and over a rough hewn board gate. Grasping your pole and tackle box, and keeping a wary eye on the old bull you saunter nonchalantly toward the other side, trying not to show any fear. The first hundred yards or so are easy going. Of course you gotta' watch where you step. It's the next 50 to 75 yards that test your pasture walking skills. Your destination lies partway down a hill. The only way to get there is an old muddy tractor path pocked with hundreds of water and yuk filled holes from cattle hooves. You really don't want to slip and fall anywhere along here.

Once past that obstacle, you have to get through an old rusty barbed wire fence that wants a piece of you! Try all that with a mad bull on your tail and you'll understand why there's probably fish alive and well living in the pond beyond. For some real comedy, if you've been lucky enough to con some city dwellers into coming along and they've made it thus far, be sure to point out that there's probably copperheads. Let 'em know they might be out there in the waist high brush you have to wade through to get to the pond. Smile menacingly and tell them to be real careful. It's fun to watch.

Once to the pond's edge and providing you still have a fishing pole and any tackle after the pasture run, you're ready to fish. Stop for just a minute and look around and enjoy what a spring morning in Hocking County has to offer. The air is sweet with the smell of hundreds of springtime plants. The woodland grounds are painted with multi-colored clusters of wildflowers. Whispers of purplish red and white hang as if suspended in mid air from the red bud and dogwood trees. Ah, this is the life! In the early morning, shreds of mist rise from peaceful waters as golden shafts of light from the sun penetrate down through the trees. It's moments like these that stir the soul into a litany of natural praise to the One who created it all. Oh yeah, fishing . . . almost forgot. Next obstacle. Notice how the sun sparkles in all those trees around you? Those are various fishing lures left by me on previous trips. Chances are, if the city dwellers aren't making too much racket screaming and jumping around from imagined snakes, and if you can actually get a lure into the water, you'll catch some fish. If the morning is good, you'll be running back through the pasture with a five pound bass or two flailing in the breeze behind you.

What's the best way to cook up those fish? Back at the house I fire up the old computer and connect into the Internet and type in "bass recipes". Take at look at this fast and easy recipe that is good for bass or trout that I found at this address (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/seafood/ fish/trout?recipe.html):

"On a grill covered with foil, baste the fillets with a concoction made of melted butter and Garlic Oil. Salt and Pepper to one's taste, of course. If you need amounts, it would be five to six drops Garlic Oil to each cup melted butter. Keep the butter in a little saucepan on the grill."

Doesn't that make your mouth water just thinking about it? While I'm sitting at the computer in the house, the city folk are out back occupied with the garden hose and various scraping implements (they sure don't run very well through cow pastures). I've got a bit of time while they clean up to check out some other areas. I've decided not to tell them I'm into the Internet; it would blow all their preconceived notions about us rural folk. Besides, their pride is hurt enough already.

I like catching bass, but I'd love to get ahold of one of those big, over-fed trout that are subsidized by our tax dollars and dumped into Rose Lake over by Old Man's Cave. Those fish anger me. As soon as you walk through the pine forest and down to the edge of the water, you can see them right there. On some days the water seems so clear they almost appear to be hovering in mid-air. No matter what I throw at them, they never seem to want to bite. I think I'll see if somebody might have a good tip in the Internet. Excuse me for a minute while I check it out. I'll be right back.. . . Well, I learned a good deal about rainbow trout in the last fifteen minutes. The best tip I got on what type of bait to use was from this address (http://www.netrix.net/flathead/1.0/fishing.html) where they suggest "use flies (above) or small silver spinner and lures, worms, salmon eggs, corn or grasshoppers." There's one or two types of bait listed here I haven't tried, so maybe I'll get lucky this year.

It looks like I've just about run out of space and there are so many more good old boy sites we could visit, from the National Rifle Association, to the Grand Ole Opry, and the list goes on and on. Thank you for riding along with me this week and be careful when you step out of the truck.
Surf safe and we'll meet again next week.