Roy's Northland Duaneawatha
A poem by Chad and Big Red Eye, both Longfellows

With regrets to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 

By the shores of Lake Mateninda
By the shining Big Bass Waters
Stood the camp of Roy's Northland
Daughter of the Hell on Earth.
Dark behind it rose the forest,
Rose the black and gloomy pine trees,
Rose the weeds with deer ticks on them
Bright red arm from slapping mosquitoes
Beat the black flies thick and swarming
Beat the weeds back to the shower.

There old wrinkled Keith the Fisher
Nursed the little Dew Boy Duane,
Let him carry all the luggage
Ladened down with Chapman's stuff
While others watched him tote the staples.
Stilled his fretful wail by saying,
Dew Boy get my heavy tackle box
To see how much of my gear you have gotten.
Who is this that shares the cabin
With his bushy tail held high?

Many things old Chap Ass taught him
Of how to cook the special beans;
Showed him how to run the Ranger,
How to leave an accessory on.
Fishers with their rods and reels
Monitored by the mighty Mike.
Self proclaimed kings of smallmouth
Running all their mighty mouths
Only once to discover
Many others do excel.

At the door on July evenings
Sat the little Dew Boy Duane.
Heard the whisperings of the elders,
Heard the stories of great adventures,
From the Lodge of days of old.
Sounds of music, words of wonder
Not by truth or honor bound.
Great stories of prior escapades
Told as if true and accurate
Of the wolves and huge catches
Even the big one that got away.

Then Chap Ass said unto the Dew Boy
"Go, my son, onto the big lake
Where the smallmouth school together
Catch for us a record smallmouth
That could swallow Chad's smallish record,
That could cast a shadow over Red Eye's minnow,
That could be held up by me to others
And proclaim myself the master.

Flitting through the dusk of evening
With the twinkle of a candle
Came the bushy-tailed evening visitor.
Came a prancing upon the bed
Came a eating from the pan.
Too much beer
Too much late night
Too much thinking of under-bed monsters
Dew Boy feared vile retribution
If he mentioned the night visitor.

On the great Lake Mateninda
Many times his bait was cast.
Cast to smallmouth
Cast to red eye
Cast to the sharp-tooth pike.
But alas his efforts failed him
While Mike and Chap Ass filled the boat.
Filled the boat with old food wrappers
Filled the boat with empty drink bottles
Filled the boat with made-up stories.

 

Caseyawatha; a poem by Chad and Big Red Eye, both longfellows

With regrets to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 

Caseyawatha's Fishing

Forth upon Lake Mateninda
On the shining Big Sea Water,
With his fishing line of Trilene
Of the twisted super line.
Forth to catch the record smallmouth
Bronze Back Lunker, Scrap Iron Annie.
In his Javelin exulting
Along with Don went Caseyawatha.

Through the clear, transparent water
He could see the fishes swimming
Far down in the depths below him;
See the red eye, the Line Buster
Like a sunbeam in the water,
See the six leg hiding craw fish
Like a spider on the bottom,
On the white and sandy bottom.

At the bow sat Caseyawatha,
With his fishing line of Trilene;
On the white sand of the bottom
Lay the smallmouth, Bronze Back Lunker,
Through his gills he breathed the water,
With his fins he fanned and winnowed,
With his tail he swept the sand floor.

There he lay in all his glory
Waiting for the battle royal
And he lay there on the bottom
Fanning with his fins of bronze.
As above him Caseyawatha
In his Javelin came sailing
With his fishing line of Trilene.

"Take my jig," cried Caseyawata,
Down into the depths beneath him,
"Take my bait, O Bronze Back Lunker!
Come up from the below water,
Let us see which is stronger."
And he dropped his line of Trilene
Through the clear, transparent water,
Waited vainly for an answer,
And repeating loud and louder,
"Take my bait, O Bronze Back Lunker!"

Quiet lay the smallmouth, Bronze Back Lunker,
Fanning slowly in the water,
Looking up at Caseyawatha,
Listening to his call and clamor,
His unnecessary tumult,
Till he wearied of the shouting;
And he said to Line Buster
To the red eye by his side,
"Take the bait of this rude fellow
Break the line of Caseyawatha!"

In his fingers Caseyawatha
Felt the loose line jerk and tighten,
As the mighty red eye tugged so
That the Javelin stood endwise
Like a birch log in the water
Caseyawatha yelled to Donald
"This is the big one for which I've waited.
Get the net, prepare for action!"

Full of scorn was Caseyawahta
When he saw the fish rise upward,
Saw the red eye, the Line Buster
Coming nearer, nearer to him
And he shouted through the water
"Damn thee Line Buster!" through the water
"You are but the red eye, Line Buster.
You are not the fish I wanted.
You are not O Bronze Back Lunker!"

Reeling downward to the bottom
Sank the red eye in great confusion
And the mighty fish, Bronze Back Lunker
Said to the sharp tooth pike, Big Bite
"Take the bait of this great boaster,
Break the line of Caseyawatha!"

Slowly upward, wavering, gleaming
Rose the sharp toothed pike, Big Bite.
Seized the jig of Caseyawatha,
Swung with all his weight upon it,
Made a whirlpool in the water,
Whirled the Javelin in circles,
Round and round in gurgling eddies,
Till the circles in the water
Reached the far off sandy beaches.
Caseyawatha yelled to partner Donald
This is the one we've waited for.
This is why we come to Canada
To catch a record for evermore.

But when Caseyawatha saw him
Slowly rising through the water,
Lifting up his toothy catch,
Loud he shouted in derision,
"Damn thee o you sharp toothed bastard.
You are not the fish I wanted.
You are not O Bronze Back Lunker!"

Again the smallmouth, Bronze Back Lunker
Heard the shout of Caseyawatha
Heard his challenge of defiance,
The unnecessary tumult,
Ringing from across the water.

From the white sand of the bottom
Up he rose with angry gesture,
Quivering in each nerve and fiber,
Looking for Caseyawatha's jig.
In his wrath he darted upward,
Flashing his great bronze presence
Like a torpedo through the water
Opened his great jaws and swallowed
Both partner Don and Caseyawatha.

 

Chadawatha
By Big Red Eye

With regrets to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 

Forth upon Lake Mateninda
By the shining Big Sea Water
Did Chadawatha come to fish
With his rod and reel in hand.
Many times he cast his jig out
To the mighty Bronze Back Lunker
Only to be left with naught.
From the bow of trusty Damital
Came advice from Big Red Eye.
When in pursuit of heavy smallmouth,
Think white pearl Fluke or camo jig.

From his box did he secure
An AC Shiner fishing lure.
On that plug he did affix
A strip of weight to help it sink.
Below the clear transparent water
Lurked the mighty Bronze Back Lunker
Waiting for a chance encounter
With an easy meal of prey.

Wise Big Red Eye did opine
That Bronze Back Lunker would decline
The hook bound offering of balsa.
Upon the deck Chadawatha stood
To present his offering of wood.
Far out on the clear transparent water
He did cast the wood and hooks
And with a splash no ripple made.

Chadawatha watched with concentration
As he retrieved the sleek allurent.
From the clear transparent water
Slowly arose a shadow form,
One of stealth with interest shown.
From the stern a cry was heard
"Bite you Bronze Back Lunker now!"
Alas the form slid back down
Into the depths where he was found.

From the bow of Damital
Came a Fluke admonition.
Hence Big Red Eye did cast out
The white pearl offering without a word.
A twitch, a jerk and walk the dog,
A slow departure from surface
Into the clear transparent water.
As if guided by the stars
Bronze Back Lunker locked upon it.

From the rocky depths he charged
With intent to inflict a lethal harm
Upon the twitching swimming Fluke.
Chadawatha in a panicked frenzy
Yelled "Jerk! Bronze Back Lunker
Has eaten your Fluke."
With a mighty sweep of rod
Excited Big Red Eye did respond.
As P-Line connected with the hook
The vision of a record filled
The mind of the nimrod fisher.

All the ado was to no avail
As Chadawatha's plan unfolded.
He planned to spook Big Red Eye
Into jerking hard way too early.
Calmly Chadawatha plucked
From the deck another rod.
One upon which he had secured
A camo tube with leaden head.
Into the clear transparent water
He made a cast to Bronze Back Lunker.

Down through the depths the jig descended,
Down to the white sandy bottom
Down to where Bronze Back Lunker lived.
With curious motion the leviathan moved
And stood upon its head to see
The camo jig that invaded its realm.
With one great ingesting motion
The jig was gone within the fish.
Chadawatha watched as the jig departed
Within the mouth of Bronze Back Lunker.

From the bow of Damital came
A cry "You've got him now! Set the hook!"
With mighty force the slack was taken,
Trembling hands prepared to fight,
The sharpened hook prepared to set.
When with snap of the great head
Out came the jig upon the sand bottom.
From out the depths came a curt retort
From Bronze Back Lunker
"Go to hell you Yankee blokes!"