Snappin and snarlin
My old man hated fishing, so my first introduction to fishing in the 60,s was an old drop line. I grew up by the throggs neck bridge, and used to spy on this nasty, old coot, who fished from the shore, I would sneak up on him, and when he would catch me , He,d snarl "Go On Kid Get Lost" This was the routine for weeks, till he finally said, "if your gonna spy on me, then get the **** over here and learn something! I probably would have been put off by his snapping,but he was only the second meanest man in the neighborhood, right behind, my old man! anyway it turns out he,s Tony Cinnati, who,s son arthur was the legendary warden at rikers island, and Artie hated fishing, I would sit for hours listening to him. He would count off numbers, as he would cast a bucktail into the water, explaining that every day the bass would be at a diferent level, some days the number would be four, other days he,d say "they,re hittin on 6 today kid" . Well I could,nt cast with a drop line, so he presents me one morning, with a fishing rod, from that moment, we were inseparable. We would fish every day all summer long. He was up on all the latest lures, Go get the swedish pimple ,"he,d say for mackeral, which used to come under the bridge ,being chased by bluefish ! In those days, we dug our own fiddlers, and rock crabs, he,d drive us to city island and fish off the lucky star for blackfish on weekends in the fall, the whole time Snappin and Snarlin, "pay attention kid, 'Wait for the big tug" He was a stickler for detail, and a great fisherman. He always gave the impression, you were an annoyance to him, but If I was a few minutes late, and he thought I might not be coming, He,d peer over my fence like a lost old dog. I still have the old rod he gave me, Its like a luck charm that brings back the magic that we once had. Its a shame that kids today with all their gadgets ,will never know about the simple pleasures of a simpler time!
