Boundless Pursuit

A non-species specific approach to angling by David Graham.

David Graham, an extreme multi-species angler and featured columnist for Fishing-Headquarters Magazine, joins the FHQ.com Writers Network with his very own blog. David tells us a little bit about himself:

My name is David Graham, I am a multi-species advocate born in South Carolina. My childhood years were spent relocating, with my family, through the southeast and southwest United States including the Carolinas, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. I completed high school in the Carolina low country before graduating from the Citadel Military College of S.C. in 2010 with a degree in Criminal Justice. As a Sheriff’s Deputy in the S.C. upstate I spend my working hours chasing lawbreakers, and every other available hour in pursuit of my next fishing challenge.

My childhood was enriched by fishing trips to local ponds, creeks and backwaters of each new location in which my family settled.  My father and older brothers introduced me to the simple pleasures of baiting a hook, casting a rod and studying the glassy water’s surface for tiny ripples that hinted at a potential catch. I truly caught the fishing ‘fever’, though, at around age 12. I discovered the unique peace and exhilaration of spending hours trekking down miles of creek bed and railroad tracks, with only a single rod and tackle box, simply to catch one or two small fish. Quite a few years have passed since those simple times. Although my fishing skill has  increased, along with the size and quantity of my catches, I often reflect and wish I could return to the carefree days of youth, ambling along the railroad tracks with my brothers.

There was never a time when I wasn’t utterly captivated by the variety of creatures – scaly, slippery or furry -  populating nearby woods or waters, much my mother’s chagrin. My summers and weekends were devoted to wandering thick woods, creeks and rocky fields, searching for whatever creatures I could close my hands around, until the inconvenience of darkness and curfew ended my day. My ‘trophies’ were softshell turtles, snakes,  lizards, bullfrogs, salamanders and more.   The Texas panhandle provided a pock-marked landscape that was home to prairie dogs, a variety of snakes, and the spiky, scarce horny toad.  My fishing trips during those years were focused far less on the actual catch, and more on the opportunity to ditch my shoes, roll up my pants and trudge through the mud in search of new adventures. I had a youthful circle of friends, but generally declined group activities in favor of solitary (except for my brothers) outdoor pursuits. I was intrigued by the reptiles and amphibians generally feared or despised by my peers, and gained a protective appreciation for these scorned creatures. When fishing became my primary interest, I simply focused on landing the biggest, meanest, and coolest looking fish possible. Experienced anglers encouraged me to pursue ‘preferred’ fish such as bass and trout, voicing criticism and disdain for the “trash fish” I might encounter. My protectiveness of the “lesser desired” species increased and I educated  myself about them, and decided to enlighten others who had been mislead.

During my late childhood years my family lived in an Oklahoma neighborhood edged with ponds and creeks where I fished for bass, bluegill and bullheads.  It was during a family vacation to South Carolina that I got my first taste of ‘rough fish’ action during a pontoon expedition in the middle of Lake Murray, S.C.  We were surrounded by a school of longnose gar which appeared to this five-foot, 90-pound kid as enormous, amazing things. I caught my first gar and was immediately hooked on the notion of pursuing the biggest, strongest and most misunderstood species from that day forward.

I turned fourteen in Magnolia, Arkansas, where our family home backed up to a seven-acre pond. My birthday gift, a small aluminum paddle boat, allowed me to explore the pond which was teeming with countless stunted bass, catfish and enormous grass carp. That year was highlighted by my first catch of a 40-plus pound freshwater fish – a submarine of a grass carp – there in our backyard pond. I soon discovered a unique body of water below the Lake Columbia spillway just west of Magnolia Arkansas, where my passion for multi-species angling was developed. There I encountered the fish that captured my heart as the ‘standout’ of my fishing perspective and passion – the muscular, shark-eyed bowfin. I began a single-minded pursuit of the bowfin as  often as I could coax my parents to drop me off at the spillway for all-day fishing, armed only with my fishing gear and hip-waders.

Fast-forward ten years to South Carolina, I now have far fewer unencumbered hours to spend on the water. I continue, though, to preserve chunks of time each year chasing various species in an ongoing endeavor to become a more well- rounded angler. It has become a personal mission to educate the many misled anglers who have devoted themselves to only one or two species thereby missing out on the plethora of unique freshwater fish that inhabit our waterways. In a world where ‘information overload’,  a barrage of new technological devices and endless multi-tasking forms the backdrop of our lives…. I crave the soul-stirring magnificence of slipping the bonds of my “to do” list and seek the quiet places where it is just me,  the water, and fish to be caught.