David Siskind | Sunday, 4 January 2026
Snakehead babies. I’m not very good at this. Yesterday Paul found more than ten sets. Paul fished and I went out in the Ronan fishing on my own. (BTW a shout out to Rickard's girlfriend - I wore the new life jacket she ordered - made Jackie happy as well). I saw two sets and also managed to wrap my leader around the thruster prop (trolling motor) requiring skilled intervention. This morning I spotted two more and even got a legitimate shot putting my fly nicely on the fish’s tail. This will sort itself out over the next few days. It’s step two in the underpants gnome* sequence - step 1) find babies; step 3) catch fish. I feel confident, but about what?
I’ve “enjoyed” a meditation practice for decades. It’s difficult to evaluate its impact - life choice isn’t an experiment with a control - but it does apply to my fishing obsession. I’m finding that immersion in all aspects of the endeavor is itself a reward. Learning knots, becoming a competent flycaster, tying flies or not, and maintaining the fitness required are all absorbing.
Hunting snakehead babies is especially so and I imagine at least as amusing as what birders do. Fishing ten days (last year and this) with Paul has shown me over and over what a set of babies looks like. On the water the set appears amorphous and ephemeral. It’s like adding time to the parable of blind monks describing an elephant. I spotted the first set as the remnant of its full bloom. Barely there. A ghost of what eventually appeared. I’ll remember the sequence of what appeared but the memory of the set’s “full elephant” stays with me as well.
Corallary 1: A benefit to DIY baby hunting, for me anyway, is that it takes some pressure off the shot itself. Not that I was relaxed this morning. My heart was pounding. It’s an exciting game. But fear around casting mechanics seemed a distant thought. Just see them, get there, and perform. Or not.
Corollary 2: My feet stopped swelling. Not sure the phenom arose from operating the boat and clambering around in it but I’ll take it.
Corallary 3: Paul gets to fish and I get to hear about it.
Historical Note: I wonder if the Nobel committee will finally come to its senses and award President Trump his peace prize after ending another war - in Venezuela this time. I have a trip to Cuba scheduled at the end of the month. I wonder if that’s our next stop.
*South Park S2E30