Buzzes and Takes

On my way home from work today (my commute is when I do most of my thinking) I started thinking about subtle differences in certain things close to my heart.

Buzzes and takes.

I'm not sure why these two things came up in the ole' bean side by side, because they really have nothing to do with each other...at least not for me. They're just things I dig.

Buzzes, that being how drinking alcohol makes you feel after having a bit. And takes, which is how it feels and looks when certain fish bite what you've cast to them.

Buzzes entered my mind because I had several different kinds while my good friend Vincent visited me last week. There were buzzes created by beer, Scotch, vodka, and wine...all being different animals.

The beer buzz is the sloppy buzz. It isn't a particularly comfortable buzz, due to the amount it takes to fill you up. But given a baseball game Bud or Coors, an after-river Micro, or a snowy day Porter, I'll take a beer buzz anytime. The hangovers can be miserable, though. Long, arduous, and flu-like. It's a fair trade off.

Vodka is an "all of a sudden buzz". I can drink seemingly gallons of vodka without feeling so much as a warm fuzzy (probably not a good thing), and then without warning, it all catches up with me at once ("That's called liver failure, Matt.") I choose to mix my vodka with tonic water, so they are very easy for me to drink quickly. This is most likely part of the reason this happens to me. Hangovers are not as "gross" feeling as beer hangovers, but can be just as severe due to the amount that one can drink in such a short time.

Scotch is delicious. But I rarely get into it enough at one sitting to produce a hangover. The buzzes though...sublime. Not saying I haven't had my fair share of over indulgences in the ways of Scotch, though. Just ask Preacher Tom and Jeffrey. If you happen to put a noticeable dent in a nice bottle of Scotch with a good friend, you will both be immobile the next morning.

While wine is not my first beverage of choice generally, I prefer their buzzes to just about anything. They tend to be potent, clean, sharp, and not "gross". There is really no "to excess" feeling and it does not fill you up. The way wine makes me feel is different than any other drink that I can think of. And I like it.

Shortly after my pondering buzzes, I quickly transitioned to takes. I actully think about that quite a bit. It's the best part about fishing (other than the buzz you aquire afterwards).

Each method, each fish, and each body of water produces a different take. Whether it's a visual take or all feeling.

As soon as a bluegill bites my lure, I know it's a bluegill. It "tap, tap, taps", and after he takes it, he swims side to side, gyrating. Yes, gyrating.

A crappie take is a subtle take that is generally one, maybe two blunt pops, and then you feel an inhalation. That's when you set your hook.

The fish that I get the majority of my takes on nowadays is the trout. I fly fish for them, so it's usually a visual take. With the dry fly, the take can be a ridiculously gentle, slow motion sip, or it can be a voracious attack. Sometimes the trout will nose the fly and decide not to take it at all.

While nymphing pocket water, more times than not you will not feel or see any sort of take. You just have a feeling that he's there. And he usually is.

Other notable trout takes generally happen while stripping a streamer. One, two, or three slams and that's when your 4x tippet breaks.

I love fishing. And I love drinking. That's why I appreciate the intricate details of both.

Goodnight fishing. Goodnight drinking.







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