From the sea

The sea offers opportunities within similar categories, but different from those we who spend most of our time in the middle of the country experience. We spend some of our time on the shore of a small Wisconsin lake. Much of the commerce in our area is based in what might be described as the tourist industry. We watch sunsets and water sports. Many folks enjoy fishing. Same in Hawaii. Things just work differently. You don't have to tow people on boards behind a boat to skim along on the water. You swim, but don't use an air tube so you can attempt to see fish.

Capturing creatures from the water to eat is another area of similarity. Deep sea fishing goes after fish that are far larger than anything one would find in even the largest lakes. There are other forms of "fishing" that have no parallel that occur to me.

This fellow shows up from time to time walking on the shore below our condo. At first, I thought he was using this long pole to fish the water that could be reached from shore. He was not casting so I equated what he was doing to cane pole fishing.

I finally had the opportunity to watch him up close. He was not actually fishing. This long, telescoping pole was designed to catch crabs. The pole has a loop on the end that he can control from the base of the pole and he uses it to snare the small crabs that scurry among the rocks. I have no idea if you eat these critters or use them for bait.

The other interesting fisherman that frequents the beach we watch takes a different approach. He uses a throw net he expertly hurls when he sees something worth capturing near shore. I apologize for the glare. I had to take these pictures as the sun was nearing the horizon behind the fisherman. Slinging this net so it spreads out in the air takes some skill. It also takes a lot of time between throws to fold the net so it can be thrown effectively. He spends most of his time organizing his net for the next "cast". The fish he was catching were the size of what I would describe as pan fish. Evidently, the fish can see the fisherman. He stands back until he seas something to capture and then moves forward to throw his net.