Fish Story

You can't really separate traveling and fishing, can you?
Well, I guess if you don't enjoying fishing you can.

Alan and I do enjoy fishing when we're home, although it's been a couple of years since we hit the waters.

So here we are in Hanoi, strolling around the great West Lake in the Tay Ho district, where we're staying, and there they were, the fishermen. They weren't hard to miss. Yes, they were IN the water. Some in waders but others just perched precariously on some unknown objects.

Pulling in the catch of the day.
There didn't seem to be any problem catching fish on the lake. Several people had nets full of fish.

The lake itself is pretty polluted. I'm not sure if I would knowingly eat fish from it. Litter can be found lining the banks of the lake and dead fish can be seen along with it. That's a pretty good indicator that all is not well.

Fishing reels. Nothing more than an object to loop your line around.
The fishermen we encountered at the lake didn't even use any bait. Just a nasty looking hook with several barbs on it, a bamboo pole, and some line. I guess that shows that fishing does require some skill.
It can't just be luck. Like the time, a few years ago, that Alan caught the fish of his life (below).

Yes, you know what they say: Once a fisherman...