The bridge spanned Allen Creek about a quarter mile from the home I grew up in and was just wide enough for two-way bike or pedestrian traffic. I spent hundreds of hours either on the bridge or standing on a little grassy spot beside it where I was permitted to fish.
Within view of Imperial Park, the neighborhood I grew up in, and Oak Grove Middle School, the bridge provided a safe place for a very small angler to walk to and fish. Sometimes I went with buddies. Occasionally with my brother, although fishing never has had the same appeal to him. Usually I’d fish alone, often standing in the same spot for hours.
I seldom fished for a specific species. Whatever would bite suited me. Usually I caught golden shiners and bluegill. Occasionally, a largemouth bass or something else.
My most common tackle selection was quite complex: a package of long-shank No. 16 hooks, some split shot and a few little round bobbers. For bait, I’d carry about three slices of white bread, kept in a sandwich bag so it wouldn’t dry out and could be made into nice little balls.
Often I didn’t use the shot or bobbers. I’d just put a tiny bread ball on the point of my hook, drop it straight down and watch carefully as it slowly sank into the dark but clear water. Little fish would bat it back and forth. When it disappeared, I knew to set the hook.
Of course, over the years, I tried fishing with various lures I would come across, and at times I would trap minnows or dig worms.
Occasionally, I’d bring a second, slightly bigger rod with a No. 1 or 2 hook tied on, and if I caught a small shiner, I would rehook it and try to catch a bass. I can still envision bass darting out from under the hyacinths and opening their big mouths to engulf my shiner!
Because of the overhead vantage, I learned a tremendous amount about fish movements and behavior and how they used various habitats, and I suspect fishing from the bridge did more than I can fully understand to shape my fishing preferences toward simple gear, a multi-species approach and, of course, Fishing on Foot.
Fishing on Foot 