FISHERMEN IN BLUE CAPS (aka BASS FISHERMEN)

The winner of the Kenai 2002 Closet-Bass-Fisherman-Award goes to Leon - aka Mr. Bluehat

Mr. Blue hat :

What to say about Mr. BlueHat? I’m renown on the Kenai for remembering names of people I’ve met over the years. Fly-in-the-cheek Don from Rogue River or Joel from Girdwood or Ward and Brian or Marvin 1 and 2 for example. But Mr. BlueHat threw me for a loop this year. It was our first night of fishing and we all made it down towards the log hole: Joe, Wayne, Glory, and myself. We had been fishing for a few hours and Joe was chattering away like crazy since he limited in about 30 minutes. Well we were fishing a couple of people away from this retired guy with a bluehat. Actually Joe was fishing next to him for awhile, he was upstream of me. But anyways, later in the evening this guy is addressing me as "Mike" like I’ve known him for years. Now usually before I get all familiar with people I tend to have some sort of informal introduction. Just because I hear a guy's name yelled out doesn’t mean I will talk to him by name without introducing myself. I think that’s the typical custom anyways. So Glory and I fish next to this guy for the remainder of the evening with him talking to me as though I was his long lost buddy and me kind of ignoring him and trying to converse with and coach Glory. And so this is the way it goes.

Then next evening we go down to fish and there he is again. Mr. BlueHat. Hello Mike, Hello Glory. How are you? What have you been doing today? Blah blah blah. Anyways, I’m in my log spot and doing pretty good. Old BlueHAt is one spot up from me and striking out pretty badly. In an hour or so I manage a couple of fish and lose even more than that. BlueHat is crowding me and trying to fish under me to get to my spot. I really hate that (except when I do it). Sockeye run up the whole bank. They don’t just stop and pile up in front of me. If I’m catching them and hooking them in front of me you should be able to do the same in front of you. If not, then change your setup, weight, line length or drift. But don’t think you’ll do better by fishing in my spot while standing in your spot. Hardly ever works (except when I do it). Anyways, after I get 2 on the bank I start foul hooking for some reason. Every fish I hook I see the delight in BlueHats eyes as he knows he’s going to inherit my “hot spot”. Of course, I begin to relish the fact that I get to crush his dream each time I have to release a potential limit fish. He’s starting to get impatient. Each time I land a fish he’s tried to creep closer to my spot. I have to cast over him and foul his line a few times before he retreats to his own area. Eventually I hook into another fish. It doesn’t come up right away, but makes a couple of semi arc runs that give the telltale sign of being hooked in the side of the head. BlueHat doesn’t notice that fact and he’s pretty sure that I’ve limited. Well I bank the red and clearly this guy is snagged. The fly is where I thought – side of the head. BlueHat shouts out to me “Well that’s close enough for me. Go ahead and keep that one.” And he starts to step down into my spot. I tell him well it may be close enough for you, but that’s a ticket fish if I’ve ever seen one. It’s snagged…and I’ll need my spot back. BlueHat is visibly chapped by this turn of events. Somehow in the quest to step into the hot spot he’s began to suffer from the delusion that his blessing of “it’s close enough” somehow supercedes the law as laid down by Fish and Game. I’m not really sure what the hell he’s thinking but I really am starting to not like this guy. He’s a bit of an ass, he keeps calling me by name when I don’t know him, and he is trying to crowd me out of my spot. Well you can do many things but the crowding of my spot is the sacred cow that can’t be touched. That’s what is so cool about fishing next to Marvin. Marvin makes do and slays them no matter where he stands. That’s what true fishing is all about. So another half an hour later I do get my fish and BlueHat does get my spot. I’m tired of standing next to him anyways.

Well, as it goes, BlueHat seems to turn up at least one shift per day for the majority of the trip. Luckily I don’t have to spend too much time next to him as I’m usually leaving as he’s arriving.

About a week later, Glory and I are chatting while driving to Hamilton’s place and we’re reflecting on some of the events of the trip. So, bunny…just what is Blue Hat's name anyways? He seems to know who I am. Did you “meet” him. She answers no. I tell her well Bunny you need to ask him what his name is. I can’t. I mean it would be too awkward since we’ve been “best friends” all week I can’t just now finally ask him what his name is…but you can. So, I assign Glory the task of finding out Bluehat’s name.

A few days later I come down to the water to watch glory and Wayne and Marie fish for awhile. I must have limited already, so I’m not currently in the water. Before I even get down to the bank I see the familiar sight of Kevin Roberts. I met Kevin the prior year and shared the steak dinner at Rob’s golf course cabin last season. So, as I appear, Kevin finally realizes that he’s seen Glory before and remembers who we are. So I do all the how-ya-beens with Kevin and introduce him to Wayne who’s fishing next to him. Not much is going on in the water and for awhile I provide the witty commentary and make everyone laugh while fishing. Eventually, it ends up that Wayne is in one spot, Kevin is above him, and then BlueHat is above Kevin. BlueHat finally hooks up and Kevin offers to help by netting the fish. I don’t really pay attention to what is going on other than I see Kevin wade out in the river with the net in his hand. After that my attention focuses elsewhere for a few moments. After that I see Kevin back on the bank looking all disgusted. He’s ranting to me about what a prick old Bluehat is. How he offered to help net the guys fish then the guy gets all indignant about it because he doesn’t know how to land his fish. Now Kevin is gotta be one of the calmest nicest guys I’ve ever fished next to so if he’s riled up then something is amiss. Kevin goes on to tell me that the guy has been a bit of an ass all afternoon and the topper is that they’re practically neighbors back home. They probably live about 5 minutes from one another. Later, Kevin told me that he went back to BlueHat to apologize for anything he might have done, but he was just trying to help the guy land a fish, and he shouldn’t have to be nagged at for helping out. Kevin tells me that later BlueHat tells him that he’s just stressed out because his wife doesn’t want to stay and fish anymore and is pressing him to leave. Well, I guess that would be cause enough to be mad as hell. Anyways, soon after this episode comes the Wayne the headhunter episode, but I think that’s another story. Glory then comes up to me and tells me that she found out that BlueHat’s name is Leon. Now, he don’t look like a Leon. Maybe that’s his problem, too.

Fast forward to the last fishing shift of our trip. It is Friday evening and Glory and I have come down to fish a final shift. Marvin and Charmaigne are holding the log hole and slaying them. I watch and wait for Marvin to limit and then take over in his spot. Glory and I are slaying them for a good while. Then BlueHat makes an appearance. "Howdy Leon" I say, as though I’ve known his name all along. By Golly, What have you got there? I say in reference to the new fly rod and reel that I see Leon holding. I know he’s always wanted my spot and thinks that I kick fishing butt, and now he wants to be like me –he’s bought a fly rod. So I tell him that he’s reached an important milestone one which will not allow him to ever go back to that spinning combo he’d been flipping around all summer. He muttered a few unconvinced words until he hooked up a few times. About an hour later he was grinning ear to ear about his great new piece of equipment. Soon thereafter Glory and I were finished and ready to go. We said our adieus and that was the last we saw of Bluehat.

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