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| Though
it may seem hard to believe given their phenomenal recent outings,
the Idiot Sportsmen did not have immediate success when they started
out. Their first fishing trips were usually to Bart's family's farm
on the Chesapeake Bay in the Northern Neck of Virginia, a beautiful
place they'd been visiting since they were teenagers who used fishing
as an excuse to get out in the boat and sneak cigarettes. But there
were fish there then, and catching them was easy. Now, when they wanted
them most, the Chesapeake was all but empty of fish--at least it seemed
that way when the IS went out. |
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Nevertheless,
having a house to themselves and a pier at the doorstep made up,
at least in part, for the lack of actual fish. There were steaks
to be grilled and scotch to be consumed, farts to be ripped and
lies to be told. Some years they timed a trip so that the World
Series was on TV, and one year the Orioles were even in it. Under
such idyllic circumstances, lesser men might have been satisfied
to just sit on the screen porch and get hammered. But not the Idiot
Sportsmen. They continued to brave the elements year after year.
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With eagle-eyed Captain Marshall at the helm of an old wooden skiff, they
went off in search of flounder and trout, strippers and blues. What they
got was sunburn. |
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But
they were not deterred, and the addition of a new Wellcraft to the
Marshall fleet raised their hopes to new heights. One of them (the
source of this brainstorm is now lost to history) even ventured to
speculate that they could now range farther out in the Bay and "go
where the fish are." After some careful consideration and argument
they all finally agreed it was a damn good idea and well worth a try.
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the new boat and Bart's brave but ludicrous search for the right lucky
hat they figured things just had to turn around. There was even encouraging
news about the Bay beginning to recover. Good size fish were reportedly
being caught out there again, and while the IS were painfully aware that
other people's success is no way to gauge their own results, it still
gave them hope. |
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Next...Fish
in the Boat--Finally
Previous..The
Early Years |
