Gone fishin’

I’VE GOT TROUT on the brain. But I want it in my stomach.

As I type this, I expect to rise at 5 a.m. the next day and spend a well-deserved day off by fly-fishing.

I’ve done that only once before. I spent a two-day weekend with a couple dozen guys from the church, to catch only one fish. But it was tasty. And I apologized to the fish for catching it.

Jesus liked fishermen. He picked at least four to become his disciples – his students as well as his best friends.

I don’t think they fly-fished on the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a fresh-water lake. It’s no way to make a living by selling the fish you catch. They needed to catch lots of fish, which means they used nets.

Here’s a little excerpt from one of the books I most enjoyed writing: The Jesus of the Bible. Sadly, the illustrated version is out of print (Google for a used version; I love that book). There’s also a text-only version that’s not as expensive as the first book: Understanding Jesus. Here’s a tidbit you’ll find on page 92.

Net fishing 101

Fishermen used three kinds of nets: cast, drop, and tow.

• Cast. Used by one fisherman, the cast net was designed as a circle about 20-25 feet across (6-8 meters). Lead sinkers on the edge pulled it down like a falling parachute, trapping fish between the net and the lake bottom.
• Drop. Long and narrow like a fence, the seine net could be dropped over the side of the boat to hang vertically in the water—with weights on the bottom edge and floats on the top. Fishermen could use the net to surround a school of fish. Then they pulled in the net using ropes at the right and left sides—turning the net into a U filled with fish.
• Tow. The trammel net, reinforced with three layers of netting, stretched nearly 200 yards (183 meters) between two boats. As fishermen rowed their boats forward, fish got trapped in the net.

Many fishermen worked at night, when it was harder for fish to see the nets and when fishermen could use torches to lure curious fish toward the boat.

For more about fish and fishermen

• “Jesus chooses 12 disciples,” Understanding Jesus, page 91-98
• Fly-fisher’s of men: the gent retreat with the video, “Fly-fishers of men“
• Kosher fish

Quarterly newsletter tomorrow

I’ll be releasing my once-a-quarter newsletter tomorrow, along with the names of 5 subscribers to my free blog and newsletter; they each win a signed copy of one of my books.

I’m off to fish a trout stream. Without a net.

 

Bible Gateway Blogger