Fishing Stories and Tall Tales

[OldTimer]

Froggin’

About 45-50 years ago my father & I spent many days exploring the lakes, rivers and streams close to our family’s cottage in Muskoka.

On one of those early morning trips we shore fished a small lake that bordered a highway nearby. The road installation had left piles of LARGE rocks along about 200 feet of shore. The rest of the shallow lake was ringed with cattails and lily pads.

We didn’t catch any fish, but did notice that on several large rocks that protruded above the surface there were a couple very large black bullfrogs. These things were ¾’s the size of a CFL football – BIG!

We tried dangling a lure in their faces – no dice……they spooked and were gone…….. And we continued on our way.

Later – when we returned to the cottage – we mentioned the frogs to my Uncle Jim. Jim went on and on about how great frogs’ legs were to eat …………and that we should have tried harder to get some…..etc.
My dad only took so much of this ……..then offered - if Jimmy would like to come along we’d go back and get a bunch of frogs – but Jimmy would have to clean and cook them for us.

Off we go…………


Dad & I brought along our flippers, masks and snorkels and a few nets, and a few burlap sacks. Jimmy brought his beer.

So we get back there…….. Now it’s about 1pm and the sun is blistering……. No frogs on the rocks………. But we have a something new sunning themselves on the rocks all along the shore – SNAKES………..big ones, and lots too………….

Jimmy gets a load of this snake show ………and he’s out……… runs back to the truck and gets in…….

We search the shore area – but we see no frogs – probably due to the snakes. So we don our snorkel outfits and sorta wade/swim along the shore away from the road way. In no time at all we begin to come upon frogs either sunning on logs or the natural rocks … or just floating below the surface in the pads. The nets prove useless.. way too slow and clumsy to catch these boys.

Dad has an idea so we go back to the truck……..

My father was a millwright (and also an RCAF spitfire mechanic during WWII) – he always carried his tools and stuff with him….. so……………. He has an old black rubber garden hose in the truck that was on its way to the dump………………. He cuts off a few pieces about 2 feet long……. Jams a 3 oz egg lead sinker in the end of each of them and uses his B-Tank torch to melt the rubber ends so they shrink in.

……………Frog wompers!................. and they worked real good.

Snorkel along the edges.. see a frog………..close in…..womp’em……….. put them in the sack.

In the next one and a half hours my dad got 8 bullfrogs before checking on Jim………. I lasted a bit longer and got 10 before calling it quits.

Back to the cottage………………..

I’m showering up to get ready for the “Jimmy’s frog leg appetizers ” preceding our BBQ bass supper and bon-fire…………and I hear a shrill scream……. And then laughter………. Seems my dad slipped a live snake in with the frogs Jimmy was cleaning…………

One last memory………….. I ended up skinning/cleaning the last half, and then was the chef for all them………. Some twitch when you cook them that fresh………. Smile.

Tasted real good though…………. sorta like snake....smile.

BTW ------------- this year bullfrog season opens on July 21st 2013………..the 2013 limit is 10 per “frogger” – you must have a valid fishing licence.

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Let...65367.html

Cheers,

OldTimer