IGHO had been pestering Ufuoma to take him to the open river for fishing. He was fascinated each time he saw people fishing in the river. It was a wonder to him and he wanted to experience what it felt like to be inside a boat and fish. Ufuoma was reluctant; although he knew Igho could swim, but swimming in the open water is different. You couldn"t go to the river to fish if you were not a good swimmer. It was too much risk to take.Besides, the flood had begun to rise fast and there were occasional windstorms that set big waves rolling on short notice that could capsize even big canoes. When such waves begin, they rise in volume and violence quickly. It is usually no sight for little boys.
But after a while, Ufuoma relented since he would not fish far away from sh.o.r.e. He was determined to make the city boy enjoy his holiday to the full. Eventually, he indulged Igho. But he had to take Onome along as well. He didn"t want to be unfair to the girl. After all, they had both come from the city to spend the holiday. As they say, what is good for the gander is also good for the goose. He knew many women who fished in Ibedeni and in neighbouring Ase, Asafo and Ivrogbo towns. So, why couldn"t Onome also fish or at least be part of the fishing?
Luckily, it was the season of the multiple hooks on a single, long line. Ufuoma unfurled his line and fixed new hooks to replace old ones and dug up earthworms as baits. The worms scared Igho; although he went with Ufuoma to dig them up, he couldn"t touch any of the slimy creatures. He was amazed at the ease with which Ufuoma handled them.
"So, you want to fish but can"t touch an earthworm?" Ufuoma laughed at him.
"They are so slimy and they move fast!" Igho protested.
"Well, that is the fun part," Ufuoma said.
"Are there no other forms of baits?" Igho asked.
"Yes, there are," Ufuoma replied. "Like eba and fufu, but not for this kind of fishing."
"What kind, then?"
"It"s for the ones they call ojoghoro, but mostly by children," Ufuoma said. "It is cast wide and it spreads out like a parachute just before landing on water."
"Oh, I"ve seen them do it!"
"But you can only do that for small fish close to the sh.o.r.e, not for those in the open river," Ufuoma told him.
"Oh," Igho said.
They set out early and Igho and Onome watched him unspool the long line, as he fixed baits on the hooks that were at arm"s length apart from each other and dropped them into the water. He expertly did it as he also controlled the canoe in a particular direction against the current. Igho and Onome watched with fascination as the long line was dropped into water with the occasional bricks Ufuoma hooked onto the line.
"What are those for?" Onome asked.
"The bricks get the line to sink to the bottom of the river fast," he told her.
"What if you allow it to float on top of the water?" Igho asked.
"Well, in that case we may not make any catch."
"Why?" Onome asked again.
Ufuoma took some time before responding, as he took a small plastic bowl to remove water that had collected in the canoe from a small, leaking hole.
"If the hooks don"t sink deep fast enough," he said, "there are some small fish called ezeze that would s.n.a.t.c.h the worms from the hooks before they get to the bottom of the river for the main targets. Ezeze are very crafty fish; they know how to eat up baits and still not be caught. Besides, they are too small for anybody"s use. That is why we try to get the hooks to sink down fast before they get to the baits."
"Ezeze," Onome called them by their name, "how do they look?"
"They are those small, silvery fish that you see as you take your bath at the edge of the water."
"Oh," Igho said, "they know how to tease. They come so close to sh.o.r.e but you can"t catch them."
"That is true," Ufuoma replied.
"But they look pretty though and very tasty, too," Onome said.
"Well," Igho said, "they may be pretty but they are fish and should be eaten!"
Ufuoma laughed.
Before long, Ufuoma finished laying his hook and they pulled ash.o.r.e for a while. Igho wanted to know what was next. Ufuoma told them that they needed to wait for some time to allow fish to eat the baits before he could inspect the line for any catch. They ate the banana he brought with him while they waited.
After about 45 minutes, they set out to inspect the hooks. They made a modest catch; ten egani, five ewha, and eight ejase completed the catch in the first round of inspection. However, two egani that were not properly hooked fell back into the water just before Ufuoma could reach them. The two city children screamed at the loss; Ufuoma asked them to be quiet and explained that such loss was also part of the fishing business.
Onome and Igho were excited at the catch all the same. But Ufuoma said it was poor and hoped that it would be better in the next two rounds before nightfall. In the last round, almost every hook caught a fish. Igho and Onome were happy; Ufuoma smiled at the two of them.
"But we didn"t catch this much in the first two rounds of inspection," Igho remarked.
"How did it happen?" Onome chipped in.
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"Evenings and nights are when fishes go out to hunt for food the most," Ufuoma explained.
"So, those kerosene lamps we see at night in the river belong to fishermen?" Igho asked.
"Yes, of course," Ufuoma replied. "What else do you think they are for?"
"But you have not gone to fish at night since we came!" Onome said accusingly.
"Well," Ufuoma dragged his words, "if I do, two of you will insist on coming with me. But I can"t take you."
"Why?"
"You will fall asleep and fall into the water!"
"Oh," Onome said.
"I won"t fall asleep," Igho boasted.
"Igho, it will be too dark and you will be afraid," Onome told him.
"Even so," Igho still persisted, "Uncle Ufuoma will be there."
Ufuoma laughed.
As they paddled home, with Igho and Onome excited at the catch they had made, a terrible thing happened. As the floodwater had begun to rise, it had covered some tree stumps that had been visible before now. They were slightly submerged underwater, and it was difficult to see and avoid them. Ufuoma"s canoe climbed one of such tree stumps and it caused the canoe to tumble. Igho and Onome panicked, screamed and tumbled into the water. Ufuoma"s efforts to balance and tilt the canoe away from the direction it was tumbling failed and they all landed in the water.
Ufuoma raised the alarm at once and several other fishermen in the river with whom they had exchanged pleasantries heard it and paddled fast in their direction to rescue them. Ufuoma swam to Igho and Onome and held them up as he threaded water to steady them from drowning. Soon help came and they were all pulled up into a neighbour"s canoe. Igho and Onome were shivering with fright; Onome burst out crying.
Other fishermen also dove into the water and brought out Ufuoma"s canoe that had gone under. Igho and Onome were helped into the canoe and Ufuoma paddled them home. The fishing expedition that had gone on smoothly and successfully turned out sour at the end. All the fishes they had caught were lost. Most of them were still alive and had gladly swum back into the water, grateful they had not ended up in any fishermen"s cooking pot!