Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!
I was listening to my mother tell stories one afternoon about her ancestors in central Wisconsin. She has very fond memories of her grandfather John. He lived for about thirty years on the family dairy farm where my mother grew up.
She shared with me how after the evening supper, grandpa John would walk to the lake to get the boat ready and dig up some worms from the barnyard. My mother would be in the house washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen.
When she was done, she would run down to the lake and get on the boat. They were ready to go and row out to a good spot. They both fished with fishing line tied to wooden poles. No modern fishing poles back then in the 40's and 50's. But grandpa mostly just used a tin can for fishing. It was also called "Hobo fishing."
Grandpa John would put a worm on the hook for my mother, and he used a daredevil lure. My mother has that same lure framed and on her wall. When they caught a fish, and they always caught fish, sometimes many, they wrapped the fishing line on a tin can to reel in the fish.
That's how poor country people fished back in the day. There was no need for all of the fancy equipment that they use today. The simple ways still work! If you enjoyed this story consider following this blog.
William James Roop
