Adventure Fishing!?
One of the things I missed while living abroad this past year (And yes, Reston counts as living abroad. Reston is basically the Lichtenstein or Vatican City of Fairfax County) has been Burke Lake.
The 218-acre state owned body of water that is Burke Lake is a mere 20 minutes from my house. In only 20 minutes I can be running around the lake on the (mostly) crushed gravel trail. Or I can be riding my bike as fast as I dare knowing that every thirty feet or so I will come up behind some headphone wearing, sweat pants clothed, slow moving walker (or similarly clueless runner). Or I can launch my sea kayak and paddle out across the water that is often smooth as glass and the only obstacle a flock of Canada geese.
Given the choice of running, biking, or paddling I’ll choose paddling every time. After a hard day’s work and after surviving yet another commute with the world’s friendliest least friendliest drivers few things help me find my happy place faster than a boat on water.
The catch-22 to my happiness revolves around the fact that A. the park closes at dark and B. work often goes past sunset (especially in the winter time). The loophole to this is that while the park closes, the lake remains open for fishing 24/7. If only I fished.
In order to meet the requirements of keeping the lake open around the clock to fisher-people, there is a separate, un-gated entrance with its very own boat ramp. And it is this entrance and this boat ramp that I have used “after hours” for the past six years. Technically I should have been fishing while on the water, but no one ever stopped me except to ask about my kayak.
Imagine then my surprise tonight when I returned to Burke Lake for the first time in a year and discovered BIG RED SIGNS everywhere. Big Red Signs were everywhere warning that this entrance was for fishing only. Big Red Signs warned that all other uses besides fishing would be considered trespassing. But I had a big evening planned and so I took my chances and parked.
Being summer and all I still had over an hour of daylight left and had planned to get a ride in AND a paddle. I had secretly hoped to go for the full trifecta and run once around the lake in addition to the peddling and paddling, but the signs did spook me a little. (At least it made for a good excuse not to run).
Ditching my planned mini-triathlon I set out on my bike around the lake. In my head I began to try and wrap my brain around this problem of how to continue my night time paddling which I enjoy so much. Of course the answer was right there in front of me… all I needed was a fishing pole and a license!
So my plan now is to visit a local Wal-Mart, buy my freshwater fishing license and the smallest, cheapest fish pole I can find. Then, all I will need to do is make sure the pole is securely attached to my bike or boat or even my backpack. I can continue to park at the boat ramp and I’ll be legal! I can continue to take my night time paddles. I can safely partake in my mini-triathlon, just so long as I’m “fishing.” I can stay sane.
UPDATE: 08.06.05
Is it ironic that my new fishing pole ($8.95 at Wal-Mart) is an Official Finding Nemo fishing pole? I’ve not seen the movie, but it does seem vaguely wrong. Like, I don’t think even ol’ Chuck Heston would buy an Official Bambi’s Mom deer hunting rifle. But then again, maybe he would. Anyways, this is just to say that I have purchased my Resident Annual Freshwater Fishing License from the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries ($12.50 at Wal-Mart). See you on the water!
