Trout Fishing in Virginia
This article originally appeared in Southern Exposure Vol. 7 No. 3, "Through the Hoop." Find more from that issue here.
The Exxon man tugs his CATerpillar cap
rams a nozzle in my tank
and talks of fishing —
says he waded creeks all day
til heading for Baltimore at seventeen:
“Never needed hook ’n line.”
I picture a farm kid with fast hands,
ask about technique:
“Simple.
Ya heft a boulder high’s yer head
womp all the rocks in the water —
fish down under float to the top
goofy as hell.”
Overflow gas gags the tank,
stains my VA plate.
“Cash er charge?”