Blood In the Water (copy) (copy)
This has never happened to me before on this river. Now Its happened twice in two weeks. Sure, I’ve been careless more than once with a bluefish or a Northern Pike and paid for it with body fluids, but these are brown trout, for goodness’ sake! The fishing hasn’t been easy on the South Holston today. Its cloudy and windy and in the forties. I’m cold. TVA’s website says no generation but they’re sluicing which means that even though they aren’t generating, they’re releasing water and the river is higher than usual. Wading is difficult and the current makes it harder to keep my bait in front of the fish. The good news is that I haven’t struck out.
I’ve got one nice fish and just hooked another - a 12-inch brown. After a decent fight, I net it and remove the hook. It’s a keeper so I need to put it in my vest. The opening to the fish compartment is on the back at the level of my shoulders. The fish is slippery and my hands are cold. I could easily lose it during transfer but this ain’t my first rodeo. Before the transfer I put my index finger in the fish’s mouth. This provides a secure grip and #2 joins his cousin.
I rebait and start casting again. As I watch my line, I notice my finger feels sticky. I ignore it for a while but eventually notice blood covering the digit. I assume its trout blood, rinse my hand in the river and keep fishing. In less than a minute the sticky is back. Hmm, guess its my blood. I examine my finger and find a seemingly trivial cut that’s oozing generously. I rinse my hand several more times – sticky each time – before I have to stop fishing and hold pressure for a few minutes. That does the trick. Something similar happened the last time I was here and I had to hold pressure as I walked back to the car.
Trout have teeth but they’re generally small and innocuous as opposed real chompers like a blue’s. In the past, after catching several fish, I’ve had abrasions on my fingers akin to marks left by sandpaper, but I’ve never shed blood. This is cause for some reflection. Of course, my default is that this has nothing to do with me and there’s a conspiracy afoot. Could it be that the government is developing a mutant strain of brown trout that secretes anticoagulant in its saliva? Do trout even have saliva? The Holston would be a good place to test mutants. Its great trout habitat – like The Hamptons for trout. The critters can grow to over two feet in length and weigh over 20 pounds. Give ‘em bigger teeth and they could do some serious damage.
But what next? Most of our adversaries are from warm climes where trout can’t survive. Why not develop mutant piranha or bluefish instead, depending on the need in fresh or salt water? Sigh. I suppose I should look in the mirror.
Ever notice how older people have thinner skin and seem to bruise more easily? As we age, our connective tissue thins and those capillaries near the surface have less support. Thinner skin and less support mean cuts go a little deeper and bleeding doesn’t stop quite as fast. Tack on that a lot of us are on aspirin (specifically meant to keep our blood from clotting) for one reason or another and there’s no mystery. Last year I didn’t bleed when I pocketed a trout, this year, I do – a graphic demonstration that I’m getting older (as if I need another).
This doesn’t change much. Truth be told, I’m a klutz. My outdoor adventures are often associated with blood loss. There’s a reason I’m an internist and not a surgeon. Knives and I don’t play well together and I have the scars to prove it. I’ve learned from painful experience that I should never try to process an animal without a Kevlar glove on my non-knife hand - which suggests a solution. I have several Kevlar gloves laying around. Maybe I’ll put one in my vest to protect my delicate skin from the ravages of trout teeth.
Or not. What’s a little blood in the water when the fish are biting and there’s a trout dinner waiting if I can just snag a couple more?
