One chilly afternoon in the foothills of Northern California, some decades ago, an adventure was planned.
My friend Roger and I — and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s — went frog gigging. Roger’s wife had promised to make her renowned frog leg dinner if we would go get some. It never seemed to take much encouragement to get us to go adventuring.
We left a little early and brought along some fishing gear so we could cast for bass in the late afternoon before dusk and before the frogs came out around the picturesque lake we chose. We reasoned that the only thing better than a frog leg dinner was a frog leg and bass dinner.
As the afternoon sun waned and the forecast frost seemed a certainty, we found ourselves leaning heavily on our friend Jack Daniel’s. By the time darkness set in and the frogs came out, Jack Daniel’s had become a strong influence, but we had our bass filleted and were rigged up and ready for frogs.
Roger spotted a frog and stuck it with his gig, but the stick came out of the gig and there went Roger, hopping down the slope behind that escaping frog, trying to poke the stick back in the gig — one-handed, of course, because his other hand was wrapped firmly around the bottle.
The frog, the gig, the stick, Roger and Jack Daniel’s all ended up in the cold lake. I thought I was going to die laughing!
The frog wasn’t stuck badly and it shook off the gig, so nobody got hurt much. And, well, the bass dinner that night wasn’t bad either.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help.
