July 17, 2017
Today, we got to go out in the field, to shock, catch, tag,
measure, and weigh red band trout. We were given waders to wear to prevent us
from getting shocked. I guess I was a lucky one, because I got thigh high
waders. Which meant as soon as I stepped in the water, where it was higher than
the thigh high waders, water came seeping in and I began trudging through the
water, with water in my boots. I was lucky that I did not get shocked while
they were shocking the fish.
I grabbed a net to catch fish, and I missed the first one on
my first try. On my second try, I caught two red band trout!! I took a break
after this, to give others an opportunity to catch fish too. To better see the
fish, I took my sunglasses off and then ended up losing them. I walked through
the stream and the deepest water I walked in, was waist high We were waling
alongside the creek and came upon clay. We asked Joel to grab us some extra so
we could use as a mask. I considered
walking through the stream and catching fish more fun than swimming. We got to
as far as the fish technician, Bubba, said we were going to go. We then waited
for Casey to catch up and she finished cutting, measuring, weighing, and
tagging the fish. At the final count we had caught 28 red band trout and
numerous brown and bottom feeders. We walked back to the vans and drove to the
site where we were supposed to meet the other group. While we waited, we ate
lunch and some of the group jumped into the water. After lunch, Bubba and Casey
decided we could go down creek and trek back up to the lunch site and try to
catch the last four we needed to catch. We caught our last fish right at the lunch
site and from there it was decided to go back to camp. We weren’t sure if the
other group was there or still out in the field. We got back to camp, and the
other group was nowhere to be found.
I really enjoyed this day. Being in the water and catching
fish was fun. This makes me want to go back and work for our fisheries program.
Still on the fence thinking.
Wonderful meeting you Brenda, I hope you enjoyed your short little stay with us and hope you will return someday. Best of luck with what ever your future holds; you have that gleam of a dream and passion in your eye, I know your future holds many great experiences. God Bless and safe travels.
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