Childhood Fishing Trip
Yes, my amazing friends, you actually read it right. I had a fun and almost died type of fishing trip in my childhood. And, yes it is more than possible in a country which just came out of the war. As Croatia was at one point in time.It is a terrible thing what people can do to each other, in these times. But, I am not here to tell you about war. Even though, it is directly connected with this story. Are you still wondering how it would be possible to go on a fishing trip and almost die? Well, let me tell you my story..
I can't remember really how old I was at the time when my father and I went on this fishing trip, but I remember it like it happened today. I am sure you have some memories such as this one as well. Some memories just stick with you for life. I grew up in a little town called Drnis. It really is a beautiful town with only about 10-15k people living there. It is surrounded by nature and not so far from it there is a big gorgeous mountain called Promina. While almost through the city runs a river called Cikola. This is where my dad and I would go for our fishing trips. And, this was about 4-5 years after the war in Croatia.
These two pictures are of my hometown Drnis, and Petrovo Polje-field.
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On the right of this picture is the river Cikola and where my father and I would go fishing.
After the war, my dad really could not afford fancy fishing poles so he would make them from bamboo sticks for us. Honestly, my dad can make anything when he puts his mind to it. I loved those fishing poles. There was a specific way of making them as well. You have to dry them properly and prepare them, but they were awesome, and durable as well. They were about 2-3 meters long, amazingly flexible and the caught fish could bend them as much as they wanted, but they wouldn't break. I believe my dad was making these bamboo fishing poles with his dad and he was doing the same with me. Passing knowledge to the next of keen kind of thing. Which gives them the value money can't ever buy. They were two-part poles, with each part being about 1-1.5 meter long with a simple line attached at the top. Of course, with a hook on the end of the line, but no anchor whatsoever. Similar to fly fishing. But a bit different.
The Craft Of Fishing
It was a type of fishing where you would cast your line with the live worm attached to the hook and that would be the only anchor you had. Learning how to cast the line without almost no anchor beside the worm took some skill and practice I can tell you that for sure. The line would sit on top of the river water and it would slowly sink from the weight of the worm. In this type of fishing if fish would not bite in 10-20 sec after your line hits the water you would need to pull out the line and check if the worm is set properly. I mean guys if one millimeter of the metal hook was showing this fish would not bite. Even if there were hundreds of fish around it. That is why knowing how to set your worm on the hook was an "art."
So if you knew how to do that the fish would bite. And, when they would, the feeling and the sight were amazing. I still remember how it felt and how it looked to a detail even today 18-20 years after."Some memories just stick with you for life." Once the fish would bite the worm, the line would cut through the water like a speedboat, leaving the V shape look behind. But if you were impatient and pull the line out of the water too soon most of the time you would lose the fish as you did not let the fish bite hard and long enough to be hooked. So the timing was of incredible importance as well.
And, of course, my dad was an expert in hooking a worms. He would catch 5-6 while I would hook one warm. It frustrated me like hell.😂 But, honestly, I am thankful he would show me how to do it couple times and left me to figure it out on my own. Because isn't that life in reality? Figuring things out on your own. I might off not think that in that moment, but these fishing trips taught me discipline(to learn how to fish), patience( to know how to catch a fish and not pull the line back too soon), and HOW TO LISTEN? Because in life if you don't know how to listen you might lose the opportunity to LEARN. And, you can learn something from everybody. I am forever grateful to my dad about teaching me these lessons. These lessons prepared me for life to come and oh boy did they come in handy.
I am a fast learner, persistent, and I learned how to be patient very fast so my dad got some competition very fast. We would always have a "friendly" competition. Each gets his pond and let the games begin. 😂
Funny Part Of Our Fishing Trip
So our fishing trip would start about 4 pm and we would climb down under our Cikola river bridge and dig up live worms. Places them in containers with dirt and we would drive about 10km from our city to our favorite fishing spot.
Cikola bridge.
In order to get to our spot,we had to cross the big overgrown grass field. The grass was so high that on this day we had to go all the way around the field and go alongside the river bank. There was no way to cross it directly. This is not long after the war so the fields were not maintained at all. A lot of abandon field and destroyed houses all around. So grass would grow over 1 meter high as there were no people tending to it.
When we would finally get to our fishing spot the situation was not much better. But, it was all about who is going to clear some space faster so he can start fishing. Let the games begin. lol A lot of overgrown grass, and branches preventing us to cast our lines with ease. This is where my height at only 10 years old came as a huge advantage. My dad was about 1.96 cm tall. So let me explain why this was an advantage? lol 
My handsome father Milan standing in the Petrovo Polje field with my hometown in the back. This was recently taken by my brother. He is an amazing father, but he does have a little short fuse as you will find out soon. I know what you are thinking. Those shade glasses are cool. 😂
Since all is overgrown around us and branches from the trees are always in the way. I was smaller and I had a shorter pole. So I needed less space and less opening from branches to cast my line. While on the other hand, my dad had a long pole which can be an advantage if you have clear space to cast your line, but not in this case. Not at all. I had an advantage and I used it a lot. While I was casting my lines and catching fish all I heard from my dad was the curse words, and him going ballistic on the branches in his way. 😂 You can probably assume right now why he was cursing?
Well because he was taller than me he needed more space to cast his line and it would always get stuck on something. On a branch somewhere, or somewhere else. I still remember me laughing inside watching him fighting the fight he can't really win on that day. Branches were beating him as well I in fishing. Thank you branches. 😂 It was not his day. No matter how hard he tried that day his line would get stuck on something. My favorite thing he would say was this?
" I can't believe it, stuck again. Why is this happening to me? Did I throw rocks at Jesus? I am cursed. lol"
This was the nicest one for sure. The other curses were little different. Not appropriate to write here. Let's just say if we were going live on TV there would a lot of beeping sounds. I mean a lot of guys.😂 I believe my dad lost his patience there. The lesson of patience I learned from him, but he forgot to apply today. lol But, seriously guys I mean his hook would get stuck on the tiniest branches. And he caught two turtles that day. Plus so many fish he tried to catch he bring so close back to the bank and they would fall off the hook and escape. I think even Budha would lose his patience here today. 😂
Plus to be fair I was a very bad son. Instead of helping him, I was just minding my own business, catching a lot of fish. And, yes I was laughing every time his pole, line, or hook would get stuck on something. I am ashamed now how bad of a son I was. I still remember myself catching him at the corner of my eyes and trying not to laugh out loud. Terrible son, I tell you, terrible. lol
But eventually he did calm down, and he did catch a lot of fish before we would have to leave as the sun was coming down. I loved those sunsets with father by my side overlooking the beautiful scenery around us. The river Cikola is surrounded by gorgeous mountains and a huge golden field called Petrovo Polje. Just imagine sitting on the river bank and huge field in front of you and the mountains in the distance. The river is so calm and it reflects everything around it. Even the gorgeous sunset coming down in front of us. While writing this in my mind I am right there sitting on the river bank with my father gazing together in the distance...
Soon we would pack up and head back to our car with dinner for our mom for us to prepare. Another amazing day in my life, worth remembering for life. Plus I forgot to tell you he got bitten by a spider while we were trying to get through the side of the field to get to our spot for fishing. Not his day my friends. lol
Now you are probably wondering why I named the title of this post as a near-death experience? To find out you will have to wait for the part two of my story as this is becoming a very long post and I am afraid it will be too long for people to read. But, trust me nearer to death I don't think we could off got.
P.S I left a hint in bold back in the 2nd paragraph of the Funny Part Of Our Fishing Trip part.
Thank you for reading, see you guys in Part 2 of this story, much love,
dbjegovic 💓💓
