I know that grasshoppers are not good for the crops but they are great fish bait. We would catch a couple dozen and head for the creek, Beaver Creek.
I don't remember how often we got to go fishing but it seemed like we got to go plenty of times and it was especially convenient as the creek was just a few hundred yards behind the house. Fishing is like anything you need to prepare to be successful. We had two primary baits, worms and grasshoppers but on occasion we would take a seine and catch some minnows, shiners is what we called them. Grasshoppers were pretty good for catching bass so we concentrated on grasshoppers most of the time. Dad made it easier by making a special tool for catching grasshoppers. Basically it was a pole about 10 feet long with a small net made of metal screen like you would get out of a screen porch door. Come to think of it most of you have never seen a screen porch door.
Just about everyone had two doors at every entrance one of which would be a screen door with a regular door in front of it if you are standing on the inside of the house. If that makes no sense to you then you had better call for some country logic. It allowed the air to flow through the house and not let in the bugs. You see we left all the windows and doors open and covered them with screens so the air could flow through the house and keep it cool or at least cooler than being outside in the sun. Screen doors were automatically closed by a spring attached to the frame and the door. When you would go through it in a hurry it would POP really loud and hopefully you would not experience the scorn of Mom for slamming the door so loudly. For whatever reason I remember the back screen door was painted green. It was really a shame but after a number of years we replaced all the screens with what we called storm doors and windows which were partially glass and screen but the screen could be closed to help stop air flow and make the house more comfortable in the winter. The new screen doors stopped the slamming as they had an air filled cylinder to stop the slamming effect and allow the door to close slower. Some day I will tell you the story about sticking my hand through the door and just about cutting my finger off.
Back to grasshoppers. Some folks don't like how grasshoppers jump around and kind of stick to you and I will admit they are a little scary sometimes but the cool thing is they have their skeleton on the outside of their bodies unlike humans who have their skeletons on the inside. Just take a look and you will see what I mean. Anyway when you bait a hook with a grasshopper bass go crazy and it makes for good fishing and my favorite part CATCHING. The truth is I don't really like to fish as much as I like to catch.
Now one more thing about grasshoppers that you may not know. Some folks like to eat them but I am not one of them. Uncle Snyd as you may recall was a WWII veteran and was a prisoner of war and in fact in the Death March in the Philippines. One of the stories he told me was how they would catch grasshoppers to get protein and nourishment as the Japanese tried to starve them to death. The worst part of being a prisoner was not the death march but the slave labor camp they took him to in northern China where the nights were freezing cold and many of his friends died from starvation and cruelty from the Japanese. I just found it amazing to hear Uncle Snyd tell about catching grasshoppers and bugs to get protein to avoid getting beriberi.
I don't know why my sister, Debbie, didn't like to fish as much as I did but Larry, my brother, has never stopped fishing. In fact he has been teaching and mentoring my family on the art of fishing even today. He even emails the grand niece of Debbie as they are fishing buddies. My oldest son and Larry are now engaged in the art of fishing as well. It is really cool to see Larry mentoring these young fishermen and fisherwomen (somehow that does not sound right). Can't fishermen mean boys and girls?
Oh well, what do you learn in the Osage?
I don't remember how often we got to go fishing but it seemed like we got to go plenty of times and it was especially convenient as the creek was just a few hundred yards behind the house. Fishing is like anything you need to prepare to be successful. We had two primary baits, worms and grasshoppers but on occasion we would take a seine and catch some minnows, shiners is what we called them. Grasshoppers were pretty good for catching bass so we concentrated on grasshoppers most of the time. Dad made it easier by making a special tool for catching grasshoppers. Basically it was a pole about 10 feet long with a small net made of metal screen like you would get out of a screen porch door. Come to think of it most of you have never seen a screen porch door.
Just about everyone had two doors at every entrance one of which would be a screen door with a regular door in front of it if you are standing on the inside of the house. If that makes no sense to you then you had better call for some country logic. It allowed the air to flow through the house and not let in the bugs. You see we left all the windows and doors open and covered them with screens so the air could flow through the house and keep it cool or at least cooler than being outside in the sun. Screen doors were automatically closed by a spring attached to the frame and the door. When you would go through it in a hurry it would POP really loud and hopefully you would not experience the scorn of Mom for slamming the door so loudly. For whatever reason I remember the back screen door was painted green. It was really a shame but after a number of years we replaced all the screens with what we called storm doors and windows which were partially glass and screen but the screen could be closed to help stop air flow and make the house more comfortable in the winter. The new screen doors stopped the slamming as they had an air filled cylinder to stop the slamming effect and allow the door to close slower. Some day I will tell you the story about sticking my hand through the door and just about cutting my finger off.
Back to grasshoppers. Some folks don't like how grasshoppers jump around and kind of stick to you and I will admit they are a little scary sometimes but the cool thing is they have their skeleton on the outside of their bodies unlike humans who have their skeletons on the inside. Just take a look and you will see what I mean. Anyway when you bait a hook with a grasshopper bass go crazy and it makes for good fishing and my favorite part CATCHING. The truth is I don't really like to fish as much as I like to catch.
Now one more thing about grasshoppers that you may not know. Some folks like to eat them but I am not one of them. Uncle Snyd as you may recall was a WWII veteran and was a prisoner of war and in fact in the Death March in the Philippines. One of the stories he told me was how they would catch grasshoppers to get protein and nourishment as the Japanese tried to starve them to death. The worst part of being a prisoner was not the death march but the slave labor camp they took him to in northern China where the nights were freezing cold and many of his friends died from starvation and cruelty from the Japanese. I just found it amazing to hear Uncle Snyd tell about catching grasshoppers and bugs to get protein to avoid getting beriberi.
I don't know why my sister, Debbie, didn't like to fish as much as I did but Larry, my brother, has never stopped fishing. In fact he has been teaching and mentoring my family on the art of fishing even today. He even emails the grand niece of Debbie as they are fishing buddies. My oldest son and Larry are now engaged in the art of fishing as well. It is really cool to see Larry mentoring these young fishermen and fisherwomen (somehow that does not sound right). Can't fishermen mean boys and girls?
Oh well, what do you learn in the Osage?
- Grasshoppers are not just pests
- Don't feel sorry for yourself, some folks have to eat grasshoppers to stay alive
- The definition of HOPE is fishing with grasshoppers
- planning is good for fishing and everything in life
Thanks for listening,
gary@thepioneerman.com
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