Iowa

I was talking on the phone to a friend in Iowa, telling her about the “Fishing America” project and how the goal was to target a different species in each state. She asked about the Iowa fish and I said, “Bullhead.”

She went ballistic, “Oh No! Can’t you go for a more respectable fish here?”

I told her the fish didn’t say anything about the state, but if it did, I couldn’t pick a more appropriate fish, because more people in Iowa fish for Bullheads than for any other species. We continued to have an argument while I tried to change the subject.

Two minutes after I hung up, the phone rang and it was Randy, her ex-husband telling me about a family pond that is full of large Bluegills and we were going to fish there for Bluegills whether I wanted to or not. Since I had already signed a fishing contract with another Iowa fisherman to fish for Bullheads, I decided I could have two Iowa fishing trips.

Randy and Zeus and I filled a cooler with large Bluegills during this trip and the other trip yielded one Bullhead.