Across 110th Street

This is one of the largest bass I have ever caught, anywhere. I've fished many largemouth bass heavy waters in many places, but if you take a careful look at this picture one can see buildings on the east side of 110th street. That would be the same 110th street Bobby Womack was singing about. North of that street 'the pushers won't let the junkies go free'. 'Women try to catch a trick on the street'. You might as well watch this to get a little flavor of the contextual life of my bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxCsIX6iU5o&feature=related

Pretty awesome, I know! Though these days 110th street has a few less prostitutes and a few more luxury condos.

The Harlem Meer is at the northern most part of Central Park bordering 110th street on the north side and 5th avenue on the east side. There's quite a remarkable history associated with the Meer including fights over the "vision" for the little lake, an 1812 battlement that never saw action, and most importantly for our conversation now, the sight of the first fly fishing contest in America! What!? I wish I could find where I read this mind blowing fact, but I swear I read it a few months ago. Not the Batten Kill, not the Delaware, not the Beaverkill, but the Harlem Meer! I'll get back to you guys with the truth when I find it.

The Harlem Meer is arguably my favorite freshwater spot in all of New York City. How can it not be when looking at a bass the size I'm holding at the top of this page? A funny side reason my friend Dave and I decided to start fishing the Meer in the first place... One night while watching basic cable or surfing the internet we learned about the ominous and deadly "Snake Head" fish, an invasive species to fresh waters all over the East coast that eats anything and everything. With the fascination and maturity of 12 year olds, we became obsessed, going as far as making plans to become Snake Head hunters. We decided to upgrade some of our gear at Dream Fishing Tackle in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. While there, the stories of the monster were confirmed by the Polish store owner. A snake head was caught in a Queens lake, was wrangled to shore, put in a bucket, jumped out of the bucket, and slithered back into the lake! I swear to God this was what was told to me and contextually, if you were in the store listening alongside, you would have believed this story as much as you would believe the sky is blue...

"Yeah, well... of course... we're talking about a snake head. They can hold their breath for like 10 hours you know. I heard they can fly! Well, not fly exactly, but glide like flying squirrels, except more like killer flying squirrels that eat babies. Yes, babies!! They're from China you know... not the babies, the Snake Head...(etc.)"

Dave and I were psyched, and we read internet rumors of the Harlem Meer being one New York lake infested with a snake head or two. Ripe with blood lust and a yearning to do good for the community, we set out via the 2 train on a most adventurous white whaling expedition.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this story coming to you next week... I swear, no more 2 month waits.

Fishaholicism

"Isn't art the most important thing in your life?" 

The answer was supposed to be an obvious yes, especially as a retort to the world-renowned, Whitney-Biennial-selected artist that I was interning for.  She was probably asking rhetorically, probably wasn't even looking for an answer; but being the smart-ass I had become over the course of that semester, I pondered... "No, actually fishing is more important to me than art... for that matter, more important than almost anything..."

Maybe if I had agreed with aforementioned artist, and maybe if I had decided not to start experimenting with marijuana at the advanced age of 19 (which seemed to give me the license to say whatever stupid thing I felt like saying, regardless of outcome), I would have been invited to stay in studio, continue working with this artist, been introduced to influential art moguls, gotten my first solo show before I could legally drink, and blah, blah, blah, blah.

In actuality, one week before the internship would have been completed, I was asked not to return to the Long Island City studio.  "You're just not bringing positive energy here, and it's just not helping anyone."  (Though I didn't know it at the time, that statement was quite accurate).

That art/fishing question might not have been the decider of how things turned out for me, but I figure it's probably one of the first times I boldly stated that fishing meant something more to me than it does to 99% (if not more) of the rest of the world.  Not just that, but this declaration was made in an arena where I had no business saying it, especially if I wanted to get ahead in the art world.

Yeah, by the way, my name is John, and I'm a fish-aholic (sic).  It feels good to finally say that aloud.  For real though, I can't stop thinking about fishing!  Most of my younger life was spent thinking about fishing, rather than actually fishing... and there are two reasons for that.  First, I grew up in The Bronx (Co-op City represent, What!!?).  As a result, I didn't do much fishing, but the fishing I did do- boy, talk about blowing your load early!!!  My dad's best friend, Uncle Marvin, lived on the New Jersey Shore, and a few times a year in the summer and fall, we would go to his house to go blue fishing and shark fishing (when I was growing up in the early-mid 1980's, I don't remember there ever being striped bass... maybe someone can clue me into this great mystery).  I'm talking mako, hammerhead, bluefish bigger than I was.  The blues were caught four and five at a time on orange umbrella rigs trolling... the ecstasy!! 

The second reason for my relatively fish-less childhood was that my father wasn't much of a fisherman, so when Uncle Marvin moved to a little backwater town in Florida named Marco Island*, the fishing for me and pops dried up. *(Marco Island turned out to be a pretty good financial choice for Uncie Marv, especially when he started to buy property before it became the super swanky Marco Island of today).

Maybe if I didn't have a taste of Posiden's ambrosia early on as I did, and hadn't been cut off mid coitus, I'd not be obsessively into fishing. But, shark fishing at 4, and then only sitting reading about fishing after that until I was 13 fucked me up something nice. Eh... anyway I hope to share with you guys pictures, stories, and important info about fishing (freshwater and saltwater) in urban areas. I mean, did you know that the lake in Prospect Park is the most well stocked bass lake in New York? Or, what about the fact that being the bass master that I am, out of all the amazing bass fishing lakes and ponds I have fished, the largest large mouth bass I ever caught was in the Harlem Meer in Central Park!!!?? Yes, I'm talking about Malcolm X Blvd. and 110th St. my friends!! More about that in the next post, including pictures...