Sunday, November 9, 2008

Sudbury River - Rt. 62 to Weir Hill & Return

Another nice Sunday morning led to another trash patrol of the Sudbury River. I launched into the river at daybreak and headed upriver under a moody sky of dark clouds that were just beginning to give way to patches of blue. In the first mile, my upstream progress was announced by two resounding beavertail slaps. A little downstream of Heath's Bridge, I conducted a brief onshore raid that resulted in 29 captives (mostly beer cans & bottles) being brought onboard. After storing most below deck, I re-launched into the river and passed under the bridge to find that the sun was now perched at the tops of the pinetrees on Fairhaven Hill. Being king of all I survey, the sun was commanded to un-rise and, as I paddled to the base of the hill, it quickly did just that, and dropped below the tops of the trees-scary! Just for good measure, I moved a bank of clouds towards the east so that the sun would remain shrouded until I reached Fairhaven Bay.
Upon reaching the bay, I came upon two fishermen who had just caught an impressive northern pike. The fish appeared to be more than two feet in length and I believe they said it was approximately 8 pounds. It was caught on a rubber worm that had been on the bottom for only 10 or 15 seconds. After they took photos of it, and allowed me to get a snapshot as well, they released the pike back into the bay. I'll post photos once they're developed.
Moving towards Brooke Island (also known as Scout Island) I turned towards the east and watched as the dark clouds raced across the sun until it just began to peek out. It was saluted with a raised energy drink and power bar and I pushed onwards, upriver.
At Lee's Bridge I came upon two fishermen in a canoe. They had launched from the downstream, west side of the bridge. I did the paddling limbo and just barely made it through the smaller of the two arches.
After the bridge, I saw quite a bit of fresh beaver work between there and Weir Hill.
Stopped at the Weir Hill landing and enjoyed a "mug-up" of cocoa before heading back downriver. Across the river from Nashawtuc C.C. three hawks were spiralling in an updraft.
On the paddle back to my takeout location, I thought of Richard Wheeler who was most likely on the water this morning working to complete his "Paddle-athon" in support of the Wareham Free Library. More info can be found here: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081106/NEWS/811060374

I would like to thank Gordon Lightfoot for providing some excellent musical accompaniment. His "Minstrel of the Dawn" and "The Way I Feel" were greatly enjoyed as well as Richard Berman's "On the Mexican Coast". I think that Henry David Thoreau might have appreciated the lyrics of this song. I know that I do:
On The Mexican Coast
In a small fishing village on the Mexican Coast, a Fisherman was tying his boat to the dock a little before noon. Pleased with his morning's catch, he was singing softly to himself as he prepared the fish for market. Standing on the dock, an American tourist who had been watching him said: "My, that's a fine catch you have there. Must have taken you a long time to haul in that many fish." "Not at all", said the fisherman. "Only a few hours this morning." "You know", said the American, "if you were to stay out the rest of the day, you could probably catch 2 or 3 times as many fish." "Why would I want to do that?" the fisherman asked. "I have all I need here to provide for myself and my family." "Well what do you do with the rest of your day?" inquired the American. The fisherman replied, "I go home to my wife Maria, we have lunch, then take a siesta, then I play with the kids for a while. Then after dinner, I grab my guitar and go into town to have a few drinks and sing a few songs with my amigos. It's a full and happy life." "I'd like to help you out with some advice", said the American. "I know something about building a successful business and creating wealth. Here's what you do: Fish all day and put the extra money earned aside, until you've saved enough to buy another boat. Then keep saving and buying boats until you have a sizable fleet. Then you should buy your own cannery so you can make even more money. Then you'll want to expand to Australia, the US and Europe. After a while, you will own a very large and successful fishing business." "And how long will all of this take?" asked the fisherman. "Oh, about 15-20 years" the American replied. "Then what, what happens next?" the fisherman wanted to know. "Next comes the best part!" the American beamed. "You have a public offering of stock and make millions of dollars!" "OK, but then what would I do after that?" asked the fisherman. "Well" said the American, looking around, "You would retire to a small fishing village on the Mexican Coast, where you'd fish a few hours every morning, go home and have lunch with your wife, take a siesta, play with your grandchildren, then after dinner grab your guitar and head to town for a few drinks and a few songs with your amigos. It would be a full and happy life."
~ Texas singer-songwriter Richard Berman
At my takeout, I had 31 empty containers bringing my YTD total to 2282.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hopefully the American told his friend to be sure and suspend the fish by the gills when storing in the cooler?
When the mercury dropped, remove the head and properly dispose.
Family fed fish, free of mercury, is the American way.