Included in their travels are lakes in the area, as well as whole river systems, including the North Landing and Lafayette Rivers. These kayakers leave no stone unturned during their excursions. They diligently check out every creek and take a look around every bend along the way.
The real kicker here is that neither of these kayakers fish. Hence, they found themselves with this ballooning collection of fishing lures but no idea what to do with them...until, that is, they came up with the idea of hanging all their finds on a year-round holiday tree (see accompanying photo).
This project wasn't borne until a couple of years ago, when one of the kayakers suffered a concussion and couldn't do much more than float around on her kayak. She began noticing how many fishing lures were tangled in overhanging tree branches as a result of anglers' errant casts. Once she was ready to get back in full action, she persuaded her kayak partner to begin seriously looking for lures.
The kayakers admitted it "at first was a silly thing," but added that it "then became a hobby." Now they call it "an obsession." Both came to realize how dangerous the lures and lines tangled in the trees are to birds.
One of them devised a lure-snaring contraption to aid their efforts. It consists of a water bottle with the top cut off, attached by a paint-roller handle to an expandable metal pole. A noose of sorts, attached by a strong rubber band and controlled by a long string, traps the lure in the bottle when the holder jerks the string. The kayakers also carry a saw, hook, scissors, pliers, and grabbers on their kayak trips to better reach out-of-the-way lures.
Along with traditional shiny lures, these kayakers have found unusual and expensive ones, too. There also are some that resemble mice, ducks, birds, and frogs. Rounding out their finds are some battery-powered bobbers that light up.
So how would a fisherman react if he/she were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at this collection? Well, as a matter of fact, a few have seen it, and according to the kayakers, "There's always one they'd really like to have."
The one warning these kayakers have for anyone else who may be thinking about starting a similar collection of their own is, "Stay away from overhead utilities and power lines. No pretty piece of plastic is worth a life."
Sounds like good advice to me.
Another version of this article appeared in the Coastal Journal under the byline of Mary Reid Barrow. Here's a link to that earlier version: https://pilotonline.com/life/wildlife-nature/coastal-journal/article_1154a1c4-02e7-11e9-af5c-a3072c56b6ae.html.
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