I am not a fisherman, nor do I play one on TV. So, I was not aware that as part of National Fishing and Boating Week, June 6 is a "free fishing day" - a day on which a person may legally fish in the District of Columbia without a fishing license. And there I was, up the river without a tackle box.
When I arrived at Fletcher's Boat House and pulled my boat out of the canal, I immediately saw more activity than usual: at the bait and snack concession, on the dock, and on the water. I carried my kayak down to the dock, and as I set it in the water of Fletcher's Cove I was disheartened to see much more trash than usual bobbing on the surface. Looking out on the river, I could see no fewer than a dozen red, rental rowboats full of fishermen with their lines in the water. Not being a fisherman myself, I jumped to the conclusion that fishing season had begun, and that I would be encountering this level of activity all summer long. On one hand, I was pleased to see so many people out enjoying the river at 8:30 on a Monday morning. On the other hand, I was sad to see so many people simultaneously appreciating and depreciating their river. Isn't it ironic? Don't you think?
(music swells) It's like ray-i-ain on your weddin' day...it's a free-ee ri-ee-i-ide when you've already paid...it's the good advice, that you just didn't take...and who would've thought, it figures. (music fades) Alanis Morissette flashback. My apologies.
Paddling out of Fletcher's Cove into the river channel, the boats thinned out quickly. By the time I rounded the first bend downstream, there were very few rowboats in sight. Soon, I had returned to the familiar solitude of the Potomac. While it is possible that the best fishing is right in Fletcher's Cove, I suspect that this morning's crowd was simply in no shape to row too far to catch a fish. They didn't bear much resemblance to the rowers I typically pass, skimming by in sleek skulls. I'm just sayin'.
Continuing downstream, I was troubled by the thought of encountering this garbage-strewn congestion all summer long. And, I was concerned for the river itself. I determined to get on the web and look into the duration of fishing season as soon as I arrived at my desk. In the meantime, I would enjoy the beautiful morning.
Most notable this day were the families of ducks and geese. It must be that May is the time for Make Way for Ducklings-style cute lines of fuzzy baby birds trailing behind their mamas. June turns out to be the time of avian adolescence. Gangly, mottled goose and duck teens were hanging around with their parents on the shore, the rocks, and the water. They didn't travel in coordinated lines, but rather in loose groupings with some straying off on their own, some mixing in with other groups, and many just lounging in the sun - napping, chattering, bickering. They were a lot like human teens without Facebook...and with beaks.
When I eventually arrived at Thompson Boat Center I saw rowers, and no fishermen. I racked my boat, walked up the street to my office, turned on my computer, opened a browser window, and Googled "DC fishing season." The first page to come up was "Fishing in the District" on the District Department of the Environment website. You already know the punchline. I learned that it was "free fishing day"- not the start of fishing season and a months-long assault on the river and its finny inhabitants.
Having had "free fishing day" sprung on me like this, I now find myself terrified of searching for a street spot on "free parking day," walking through Rock Creek Park on "free hunting day," and of being groomed by a lowland gorilla on "free the animals in National Zoo day." You just never know what to expect in the Nation's Capital.
It IS ironic, I think.
ReplyDeleteMaybe DC should offer "Free Beak Day", too--it sounds like that could be a fun way to spend a day. With a beak. On the water.