Fishing to win

One of my personality traits is that I’m extremely competitive. If I’m going to do something, I want to do it well. That can be a good thing — it has served me well in my career and it’s helped me reach some personal goals.

But there’s a flip side: I’m easily frustrated when I want to do something well and I can’t, and sometimes I suppose I can be a little too competitive.

One of my favorite activities this time of year is fishing for bluegill at George’s Pond. I’ve been doing it for years and I’ve been surprised by the number of decent-sized bluegill that the little pond holds.

Now, I’ll acknowledge that bluegill are probably the easiest fish there are to catch, especially this time of year. But that’s why I enjoy fishing for them so much. When they are really biting, it can be nonstop action.

The past couple of years I’ve had a new fishing buddy — my wife, Lisa.

Lisa loves fishing, maybe even more than me, and she’s good at it. The first time I took her fishing at George Pond — where I’d been going for years — she put me to shame. And it’s been that way pretty much ever since.

Recently, though, I’ve been holding my own. We caught the bluegill biting well last Monday evening and pulled in 50 in a little over two hours. Lisa had five fish before I even had one bite, but I got on a hot streak later and began to catch up.

I finally took the lead when I got my 21st fish of the night. I was celebrating my catch when I looked over to see Lisa pulling in one of her own. We were all tied up.

As I said, I’m very competitive. Even when I’m fishing with my wife. When you marry the fish whisperer, all you want to do is catch more fish than she does, just one time. Whatever it takes.

So, can you really blame me for dropping my bobber right beside Lisa’s after she missed a fish? I mean, she had her chance, right? I only did it 10 or 12 times. All’s fair in love and bluegill fishing.

In the end, I had 26 fish and Lisa had 24. I might have teased her about that just a little.

We went back to the pond a few more times last week. I even went Sunday morning while Lisa was busy with an errand. We caught a few, but we didn’t come close to Tuesday night’s numbers. Still, I’m ahead for the year (yes, I keep track).

It’s all in good fun, really. And I won’t be ahead anymore after we get a chance to go trout fishing at Roaring River. Lisa can cast an empty hook in the water there and pull in a monster trout. Meanwhile, I mostly sit there looking lost and confused.

As you might guess, one of Lisa’s most endearing traits is her patience. She’s even patient enough to put up with me. Most of the time.

Love you, dear!

••• Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@Carroll-CoNews.com.