Down By The River - Chapter 16 - Mildura & the Houseboat Day 12

DOWN BY THE RIVER

Chapter 16 – Mildura & the Houseboat Day 12

Another working week comes around. That means Monday morning staff meetings and generally catching up and directing staff for the week. Today is no different and as we have reasonable coverage at this point, I might as well be in my office at home as far as the staff knew.

There are issues of programming that have cropped up over the weekend, which I suspect as when they occur to me, it is a lot of user error and very little technical difficulty. This time at least I am perfectly correct and whats worse its an issue that has occurred previously which we had fixed together and the staff did not remember. This time we go through the fix again and ensure there is a written explanation of the error and the procedure to fix it in the procedures manual – not that it will stop this particular staff member from having the issue again, she seems prone to these types of problems and being unable to get herself out.

I wonder how secure she feels each time we dig her out of a self created hole.

After staff meetings and breakfast I am forced to fish. Forced I tell you!

My wife’s laptop is experiencing battery failure and she commandeers mine as the ever increasing mass of the battery in hers worries her. We keep all our files on the net so in events just like this we are not hampered. There will be consequences in that I wont be able to work – tough that. But someone has to be accommodating when things like this happen don’t they?

Early to mid morning a reconnoitre of the fish numbers to date give me an incentive. If I stay on the current numbers I could conceivably have a total approaching 200 carp caught what one might term “traditionally” i.e. with a hook, bait and line, by trips end potentially lowering the water level just a little and fertilising the shore somewhat.

With the slowness of the activity comes the drifting. One thinks of the lines from Cats in Cradle – Harry Chapin, 1974 – Verities and Balderdash

“I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away

I called him up just the other day

I said, I’d like to see you if you don’t mind

He said, I’d love to, dad, if I can find the time

You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kids have the flu

But it’s sure nice talking to you, dad

It’s been sure nice talking to you

And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me

He’d grown up just like me

My boy was just like me”

Both children from my first marriage are grown up and gone their own ways. As it is, in those days were were all looking to make our marks. There were trade offs in time and effort. Even now our daughter (Robyn is my second wife) making her own mark and just like the song goes, they are happy to tal, happy to know its their time and their need to juggle life’s wants and needs, but it would be nice to be able to share times like these with them.

Perhaps there will be a time in the future when the ravages of economics will be gone and, except i suspect the age gap and children of their own, may very well fill the void, time will be found for family not just fleeting “ships in the night” passing by on their aimless voyages towards oblivion.

As I am the only one in “recreation mode” for the moment, and the fishing is a bit quiet, and we are still moored at Trentham, I sneak up to “make lunch”. What I actually do is head up to the wine tasting area and grant a couple of the wine tasting cheese platters which with what we have in the fridge as left overs, will more than do for lunch. The workers can continue at their leisure, break when they are good and ready or not, if that’s what floats their boats, and I will have done my bit for business, albeit other businesses. A good job all round even if I have to say so myself.

The White Knight of Lunch having done his good deed for the day heads back to the back deck to continue the trek to 200.

Wait for it though. The workers are revolting. They are leaving their computer screens and heading up to the top deck. The spa is heard being turned on and the White Knight is summoned to join the mere workers for lunch and bubbly in the spa.

So much for afternoon productivity! The only thing that will be happening will be well earned naps from the work completed in the long morning shift.

The afternoon heats up (and not just in the spa) and so does the fish biting. With all 4 lines in the water and a plentiful supply of shrimp from the net this morning and a few worms left over there is interest to be had. Lines twitch requiring attention, others simply bend in earnest as the fish, well hooked heads off.

One such time the rod bends so much it looks like it is going to break and as I take it form the rod holder I can feel why. I tighten the drag a little but to no avail. In the ocean this would potentially mean a shark but here in the Murray I may just have snagged a passing Murray Cod or other large predator. The ruckus gets Maurice from his seat inside (the only one not napping after the luncheon repast and spa antics) to see the fight. By the time he is on the deck looking for a camera to record it, I have turned the fish. Maurice cannot find the camera but it better served readying the net.

We get colour and to my disappointment its only a large carp. A large fish and a great fight but still a carp. 

Netting it is going to be an issue as well as the net I have is too small for such a fish. I am going to need to play with it a lot longer to tire it out sufficient so the top half will go into the net, Maurice hump it up onto the back without it flipping out.

Time and time again we have it to the transom at the back of the houseboat only to have the carp flip its massive tail and it is off again. Finally we are able to get this monster of the deep onto the houseboat. The scales are tipped at 4.5 kilograms. Just shy of 10 pounds on the old scale. Being at Trentham we are unable to simply throw the dead fish up the bank so the esky is holding the catch for the moment until we can get away from here to a bushland setting.

Maurice sits for a while on the back deck and is encouraged to pick up a bending rod. By now the camera has been found and I begin to commentate as he fights with and eventually lands another carp. The commotion wakes the others and they come to see what all the commotion is all about. A big fish for Maurice, dwarfed somewhat by what is already on the esky ready for disposal.

Before settling another rod goes off somewhat like the 10 ponder from before and again i struggle to turn the fish in the early stages and by the time this one (another 3.5 kilograms of unwanted vermin) is in the esky the sun has all but set and the bugs have moved in

I set the bug zapper, update the scorecard and head in for dinner. Target 200 will be a stretch if I don’t pick up my game a little. Having said that we are well passed 200 from the net after that huge haul early on docked in Mildura. Yes, bread in the net as bait does not bring the best of outcomes when looking for shrimp in carp infested waters. We live and learn.

Our partners are keen for another bout of Rummikubs tonight feeling like they are serious contenders after some of the earlier exploits during their education. Robyn soon puts them in their collective places with decisive wins. If she doesn’t I do. The carnage is amazing in its entirety.

Bed calls, I need to be on my game early for the last 60 to make the number.