It's April 24. I'm female, I'm single for the first time in 7 years, and my Daiwa's got a bent bail. Even though work has me spinning like a well-oiled reel, I can't hear myself think over all of the dogs barking up my skirt, and my tomato garden has had me covered in mud before 6 a.m., I still have time to think about all that needs to be replaced in order for the surf-fishing season to begin.
When He took all the tackle, including mine, I thought this would be the season of surf-angling woes. Although strange, I am quite looking forward to angling at my own pace, however, and doing things My way for the first time in a long time.
I needed a tackle box, so I bought a crafts Kaboodle. You know, the kind that looks like a tackle box, but more chic. It works for me, because I don't need one hundred 10-oz. weights, 30 useless shark lures, fly hooks, and stinky toxic plastic freshwater worms for surf casting. All the tool this old She Salty needs is patience. In addition to that, maybe a pair of pliers, an unending supply of 7" circle hooks rigs, some 5-oz. and 8-oz. weights, bunker and clams, and a large roast beef sandwich. Oh, and my trusty Knives of course. I like a small meat cleaver for chopping off bunker heads, not a tiny buck knife like He used. I believe my method is much more efficient and much more satisfying. In addition, I don't much like using a fillet blade for that sort of thing, that is for delicate slicing.
Added to that list has been a folding chair and battery operated radio, all of which will stack nicely in my army camping bag. Packing light keeps my spirit light. Life is filled with enough baggage, and I like to try and leave all that behind when I step on the sand, at least for a little while. This is especially true if I want to leave the scene with a heavier bucket than I arrived with. So, I still need to have my reel fixed, pick up a plastic stake, find a few odds and ends, wash my waders, clap out my boots and I am golden. No man, no worries. Right?
I will try to regain what I lost when I was with Him and that was peace of mind. For once, the shoreline may not be filled with nagging, rushing, unnecessary urgency, competition, criticism, and infamous arguments about why we should have taken a Flounder boat instead.
As a woman, I feel like I need the solitude more than I need the trophy when I am at the surf. If I leave the beach with a lighter pail than before, I will be alright as long as the sun shined on me and I got my feet wet.
This girl may only be armed with a tight Palomar, but I think I will be fine without meddling Man hands this year. I mean it's not how big your knot is, it's how you tie it ... Right? I might even break from the duty and meet my brother to go long boarding for a little while. Why? Because even though I like to beat the fishes at their own game, sometimes I just feel like joining them!
