Cane Pole Fishing

In today’s high tech society, a skill of simple fishing is on track to becoming lost. We have all seen pictures from Norman Rockwell of a boy with his cane pole either on a bike, at a pond, on a wharf, or with his dog. For a lot of the baby boomers, this was how they were taught to fish. It is a method that many of us remember but don’t use today.

When I was very young growing up, my mother use to take me to a small park in south St. Louis to fish. Since I came from a very low income family, I used an old bamboo cane pole. My father had taken me to a bait store were many different types of poles and rods and reels were for sale. Some of the cane poles would be up to twelve feet in length. He would always take his time to pick one out just my size. We would tie them to the side of the car and take them home. There he would put a line on it with a weight (sinker) and a hook. I was ready to fish.

I didn’t have a lot of patience at that young an age. My mother helped me toss it into the pond. However, within a few seconds, I was pulling it back out. She was very good about putting the bait on the hook for me. I think she was afraid that I would get the hook in my finger. She would say fishing is not a fast sport. You have to have patience.

My father, who worked a lot couldn’t spend the time with me he wanted. He had to work. Whenever he was with me, he stressed the same thing my mother did. He would also tell me to remain quiet while I fished. He told me that noise and water disturbance would chase the fish away.

My uncle Perry taught me more about fishing than anyone though. When I reached the age of eight, I got to spend a week with him in Missouri. If it wasn’t raining, we were fishing. This is really were I learned the valuable use of a cane pole. What he taught me was basic ways to use a cane pole. Although these methods were simple, each had its special purpose.

There are three ways to use a cane pole. One method is with a cork or bobber. He would tell me that if it bobs’ briefly, the fish or just biting. If they take it all the way under, he is probably hooked. When the bobber moves sideways, the fish is running with the bait. He may or may not be hooked. The second way is called tight line fishing. This is where you have a weight and hook only. You put the line into the water and fish straight up and down. You can tell if you are fishing deep or shallow.

This is a great method to use in swift running water. The last method is called loose line fishing. With this method, you use only a hook with bait on it. It is similar to fly fishing. This method takes a bit more practice. You have to be able to whip the line out without loosing your bait. This is used for fishing on the top part of the water surface. The fish hit your bait and run with it. All you have to do is try to hook him when he runs. Three simple methods but, all that need practice.

My uncle was very good at teaching me these methods. He would spend countless hours with me until he saw that I was doing it his way. Then he told me something very important. Where you fish dictates how you fish. You can’t use a bobber in swift water.

If you fish near roots or downed trees, you have an excellent chance to get hung up as well as catch a lot of fish. Hot days are usually not good days to fish. Morning and evening are excellent times to fish. That is the time of day they feed. If you do fish on a warm day, try fishing in a shady area. Fish are like people, they want to stay cool.

He showed me the proper way to tie a line on a pole. You start about one third of the way down from the top with a slip knot. At the very top of the pole, you just go around and through. The slip knot could always then be moved up and down the pole if you needed to lengthen or shorten your line. You must make sure that the slip knot goes below the ridge on the bamboo pole itself. This would be the ridge closes to your grip.

From time to time, I would ask my uncle and dad,” Why can’t I have a fancy Bass Rod and Reel?.” They would always say the same thing.” Master the cane pole first, and then move up.” It kept going back to the idea of patience. “ But I can’t get out into the deep water in the middle.”, I would say. “How do you know it is deeper out there?” Well I just assumed it was. My assumption was incorrect. The river was deep close to the bank, too. I was starting to learn that you had to know the area where you fished at.

Choice of bait was another major decision to be made. We used all types of bait. We used dough bait, cottonseed, liver, rice balls, oatmeal bait, crawdads, minnows, grasshoppers, tadpoles, and worms. We liked night crawlers the best. These worms were so active compared to other earth worms. If fish didn’t hit them, they wouldn’t hit anything. Sometimes we used red sand worms. They don’t break as easy as the night crawlers. However they were a lot lazier in their actions.

If we fished for catfish, we would use scavenger bait. That is what a catfish is. It is a scavenger. It likes blood. So liver was ideal for them. We would always fish on the bottom for them. The tight line method was the best for them.

The fish I always like to catch was the Bluegill. Although they are usually small, they put up a good fight. I also thought they tasted better, too. My uncle would catch them and put them in his pant pockets instead of using a stringer. He could put up to three fish in a front pocket. I never did that though. The thought of live fish in my pant pockets wasn’t for me.

The thing about cane pole fishing was that you never knew what you would catch or what they would look like. All I know is it was fun. I recently went to a fishing show in the St. Louis area. I couldn’t believe all the fishing technology that was on display. It has really gone high tech. I didn’t see one cane pole at the show. Nor did I see any pictures. The skill of using a cane pole may have exited with the turn of the millennium.

I am sure that there are some places were cane pole events go on. But, as time goes by, they get less and less. Maybe the use of a cane pole is taken for granted. People in today’s fast paced society are looking for quick and sure fire methods to fish. However, the experiences that I had growing up using the cane pole will never be forgotten. The cane pole might not be the fanciest, but it still produced results. The enjoyment of fishing is still there.