An Angler's Tale #1: New Beginnings

 In a world that continues its steady descent into pure chaos, a weary traveler sits beside a gently flowing stream, a simple fishing pole in hand; They cast their line and momentarily forget the woes of the world, the current battles going on, and their struggle against the ever forceful impressions of those in power.

They are the protagonist and an angler, and this is their tale.

As of yesterday, July 25th, 2023, I have renewed my fishing license again for the coming year, thus granting me access to the waters that flow through the land that once formally belonged to my ancestors. In the time since I last went out to "drown worms" as my mother likes to say, I've picked up a few new pieces of gear, which I will get into right now.

First of all, is a doozy and a purchase I am still uncertain of and I have a whole month to decide whether it's for me or not: A GoPro Hero 9! I've been wanting one for some time as lugging my phone out all the time to try and set up shots while fishing can get tiresome and take attention away from what I had really gone out to do, which is fish. But it also serves as another tool for another activity that I used to partake in that has since fallen to the wayside, and that's hiking. A few years back, I would regularly go out and just walk the trails around town and even some outside of town, such as Stone Mountain where I nearly passed out from pure exhaustion and poor planning back in 2020.

The Hutchinson's Homestead is situated in the clearing just below Stone Mountain, North Carolina.

So not only will the GoPro aid me in just making recording my fishing trips that much simpler, but it will also give me the ability to record what I see when I see it, thus encouraging me to get back out on the trail each season to see the changes and to make use of my personal computer as more than just a blogging device(What you didn't think I did all this from my phone did you?)

The second new tool added to my arsenal is the Berkley Cherrywood 5' Ultralight fishing pole. Five-foot poles are difficult to find for whatever reasib, especially at cheap prices. Thankfully Amazon had a few of these left to go around at around $30, so I grabbed it on credit along with a new reel and some other stuff that was needed.

With this pole in my arsenal now, I feel I can begin my fishing adventure - The Angler's Tales - anew, by starting with a small Ultralight and working my way up to the bigger poles for bigger fish. But while I am doing so, I want to set goals/achievements for myself that once I achieve said goal, I can "unlock" the bigger and more powerful combos and go after larger fish. 

So what will I be attaching to this beautiful-looking little UL pole? 

I had debated between going for a full spinner reel, but I really am not about the headaches that come with using those, so when I saw this alternate take on a Zebco33 Micro, I snatched it up.

I've never seen anything like it; It feels great in the hand and provides some interesting new sensations thanks to the beneath-the-rod design as I'll now be reeling with my left hand while using my dominant right hand for setting hooks.