The McHenry Creek Fishers Users Guide and Dictionary

Last Updated on August 24, 2018 by Terry

In a hurry? Grab the PDF of The McHenry Creek Users Guide and Dictionary and take it on the go with you!

If you ain’t from where we grew up, pay attention, it may take you a while to catch on.

%#*#$! – A term used when the biggest bass of your life gets away. Same term may be used when a small one gets away. Also interchangeable with the term for getting a hook stuck into your finger. Usually involves mumbling.

A.A. Milne & Dr. Seuss – Terry’s favorite authors.

Backlash – Your spool blows up and ruins your line. Also known as a wasp’s nest to bass fisherman. It happens when you don’t have your drag set right. Or if you attempt to cast too hard into the wind. Or, if you simply do not know what you are doing. Usually followed by saying “%#*#$!”

Balloons – No one can be uncheered with a balloon. –Winnie the Pooh

I hear people every day talking about having a bad day. Most of the time, their bad day is merely a simple temporary inconvenience. Truly having a “bad day” would be the loss of a loved one, divorce, tornado damage, truck stolen, or worse your boat… that sort of stuff. Those “temporary” inconveniences can be overcome by something as simple as getting yourself a balloon and writing some good thoughts on it with a marker and hanging it in a prominent place at home. If you think you are having a bad day, read a Dr. Seuss book or Google some Winnie the Pooh quotes. Works every time.

Also, Terry likes to have a little orange color on his spinner baits. The bass that choose to habitat the many oxbows in southeast Arkansas love crawdads. These mudbugs have a little orange tint to them. If Terry is out of bright orange fingernail polish to paint the heads of his spinner baits, he cuts up orange balloons and places strips on his hook for his trailer. This kind of outlandish behavior causes Terry’s friends and brothers to say “%#*#$!” They can criticize all they want, it works. Terry has pictures.

Bike Racing – The act of riding your bike as fast as you can in order to get to the creek first and therefore have a chance to catch the first fish of the day.

Blowed up on – Also known as the Commode Flusher! The act of running your buzz bait, frog, Lucky 13, or other top water bait across the top of some Lilly pads or a weed bed and a good sized bass blows up the surface of the water attempting to get your bait.

Bobber – Normally thought of as a device placed a couple of feet above your hook that is baited with a minnow or even worse, a bug. (See PJ) After living most of my life in person, I understand the term to mean something quite differently. The “Bobber” is the guy that goes underwater to retrieve a motor after it has been lost from back of boat. When he “Bobs” up with the motor, it’s a good day! (Makes sense if you read my fishing adventure book!)

Another meaning is also recognized. After falling from the boat again, the act of “bobbing” up to catch your breath in order to climb back into the boat or swim to shore. (Yeah, you’ll find out all about that in the same book.)

Actually there is one more use of the idea of bobber or bobbing up. Terry has very poor eyesight. His best eye is twenty over five hundred. That means he cannot see the giant E at the top of the eye chart. Early one morning as he and one of his friends were easing the boat through some brush to get to one of their favorite lakes. A small limb kicked back and knocked his glasses from his face. The water was nearly six feet deep. Terry’s friend peeled off his clothes and slipped over the side of the boat to retrieve them. The water was a little dingy and he would not be able to see the bottom, so diving under was out of the question. He simply tip toed around the area until one his toes touched the glasses. He grasped them with his toes and attempted to bend his knee in order to reach the glasses with his hand. As soon as he raised his feet from the bottom, he went under. He suddenly BOBBED up with the glasses in hand! Terry was relieved. Not just because he got his glasses back but that his friend actually came back up and did not succumb to any bad things happening to him. You know, if he was not able to return to the surface and continue living, the fishing trip would have been over.

Boat Cracking – Most folks have heard of “Safe Cracking.” It’s a reference to a bad guy attempting to rob someone’s safe. Well, we don’t usually try to break into anyone’s safe, although we have “borrowed” a few boats and an occasional truck. Boat Cracking is not really an art or special gift, it just takes a little experience and to be a little mechanically inclined. My family and friends have spent a lot of fishing trips on the lower White River Basin fishing in small sloughs, canals, oxbow lakes and the like. Many of these trips involve motoring on the river itself or launching on some of the old river channels called “bays.” Sometimes you have to motor a few miles to get to your destination. We would look on maps and navigational charts (this was 20-30 years ago so Google Earth was not an option) for the many oxbows and fishing holes a little ways off the river. Sometimes we would drag our boat over to the small lake. This would only be done if the lake was very close. I built an axle mounted on two motorcycle wheels so we could roll our boat to these lakes. You simply pull up onto the shore, hide your motor and gas tank, pull your boat up onto the axle and start rolling it like a two wheel cart.

What we hoped for was that there would be a few boats (or at least one) tied up at the lake that we were planning on fishing. You would just untie the boat and push off having brought a paddle with you and start fishing. The problem with that was that the boat owners started using chains and locks to secure their boats. Now extreme measures come into play. You would have to plan and be prepared for this type rudeness.  So I carried a backpack along, my “boat cracking” kit.

The contents of the backpack are thus:

KIT “A” – Bolt cutters and several locks. I would find a boat that was chained to a tree and cut a link from the chain and add my lock. Now when I returned to this lake I could unlock my lock and fish. It was common practice, there were usually 5 or 6 locks already attached to the chain owned by other clever fisherman.

KIT “B” – Several sizes of nuts and bolts and 2 crescent wrenches, one for standard size and one for metric. The chain used to secure the boat had to run through one of the handles on the front or back of the boat. Many times these were bolted on. You simply remove the nut with your wrench and go fishing. If the handle was attached to the boat by rivets, you had to find a way to break the metal rivet off the boat. I found that the easiest way was to pick up the opposite end of the boat from the tree it was chained to, back up so the chain was slightly extended and the boat was a couple of feet off the ground, ease forward and then step back and yank the boat as hard as you can. The weight of the boat would then snap off the rivet holding the chain. Now you can go fishing. When I had properly fished out the small lake, we would drag the boat back to the tree and install our own nuts and bolts into the hole in the handle where the rivet broke out and re-secure the chain. No one would notice the difference between a rivet and a bolt.

Borry something – To take and use something that belongs to someone else for a period of time before returning it. Well, that doesn’t sound so bad. We’ve borried a boat or three under that definition. Hey, even a truck or two. We always put them back. They were even still useable when we finished with them. One day we needed to pull my truck up out of the river after I had backed in a little too far attempting to put the boat back on my trailer. Some guy had left the keys in his truck so we figured he wouldn’t mind. I even thought he was probably just a real good Christian man and left it there for others to use if they needed to.

Bucket Mouth – This is an old description of big bass. Their proper name is Largemouth bass, so Bucket Mouth. (Well, that’s a pretty good description of the ones Terry catches.)

Although, there is another description. If you attempt to go fishing too much, you might have to listen to some legitimate concerns from your wife.

Bugs – There are many bugs known by many names. Pests is one. I believe this term is short for pestilence, a word used in the Bible with various meanings. It was one of the plagues used against Egypt.

There are a few different references to bugs for fishermen and women. One is the mosquito. Nasty little flying bugs that bite. They go after you every time you go fishing in warmer weather.

And there’s the chigger. They are bothersome when fishing from creek banks. They usually bite you around the ankles and make you scratch and cause your skin to become raw. The quick recovery is alcohol. (Not the drinking kind) Just rub it on the bites. It soothes the burning and itching. The more permanent solution to chigger bites is putting some bleach in your bathwater and soak those ankles for a while.

Then there is the worst bug of all, the biting fly! They seem to always be around small flat bottom boats. When we walk over to an oxbow, borry the boat that has been left there, and start fishing, those flies from hell begin their mission of making your life as miserable as possible. You are barely able to fish for fighting them off. You will have many welts after fishing for several hours, all of them bleeding. May cause you to say %#*#$!

Then there’s the fishing bugs. Most PJs use crickets to bream fish. In the old days we dug up another kind of bug, worms. As you become a more accomplished fisherman, you hang up the lesser fishing equipment and go after big bass. Fishing with bugs is more of a kids and beginners way of catching small fish.

Therefore, if someone refers to you as a PJ, it is probably not meant to be a compliment.

Daycare – A place where parents leave their children in order to go to work or shopping. This is usually a place where someone charges you a set rate per day. This term was not known or used in the mid to late 1960s. Daycare back then was our mom fixing some pancakes covered in peanut butter and homemade syrup. After we finished eating she would shoo us out of the house. We would then jump on our bikes and head to McHenry Creek as fast as possible. When we got hungry, we would head back for a sandwich and then play ball in the corner lot up the road or go back to the creek for the rest of the afternoon. Sooner or later we would drag back to the house to clean up and eat supper. Then just hit replay the next morning.

Dog fish – A species of medium size shark. Having never lived around the ocean, we didn’t know that in 1967. We just knew that our dog could catch a fish. After spending many days following us up and down McHenry Creek observing, he dove into the water one morning and came out with about a half pound bass in his mouth. I bet you a roll of duct tape that your dog never accomplished such a feat.

Duct Tape – Something that can be used to barter with. One of the essential elements needed in order to get through life. If you had to choose on which to carry with you to sustain life, a roll of duct tape or a bottle of Vitamin C, no contest. It’s hard to get through a day without needing some duct tape for something. You may have to tape a broken rod back together in order to continue fishing. The little latch on the box I carried my extra fishing lures was broken. I used duct tape to keep it closed. My set of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy I purchased in 1969 for instance, the paperback covers are torn off the books. I used duct tape to secure them back to the books. What are you going to use to tape up the splices after rewiring your trolling motor connections to the battery in the back of the boat? You don’t really think I would drive to a hardware store for a roll of electrical tape?

Everyone knows that band aids won’t hold on the finger you just stuck a hook into unless you use duct tape to secure it. How else would you fix your vacuum cleaner hose without it? By the way, what else would you use to hold the batteries in your tv remote? Patch a hole in your tent? Hold up posters on your bedroom wall?

Terry even used duct tape to wrap tightly around his right forearm that was broken after he fell in 2016 attempting to get into his boat. It only worked about an hour before the pain sent him running for home. But, he got to fish for an hour. Glorious duct tape saved part of the day.

He even used an entire roll to hold my broken boat trailer axle to the frame so I could drive home one night. And what else could you use to replace the glass for your truck door after it has been broken out, huh?

Even Matt Damon referenced it on the movie The Martian: Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped. Not sure if I would go that far, but I know what he means.

Fisherman – See Liar.

Fishing buddy – These are the guys that line up to have an opportunity to go fishing with Terry. He has spent a lifetime as one of the most prolific bass fishermen of all time. There are so many lesser guys who enjoy fishing and want to go with him, that Terry can’t remember all their names. So, the term fishing buddy is simply used for convenience.

If you go to Terry’s web site you can send him a request to go on a fishing adventure with him. Really. MchenryCreekFishers.com

Griz – A scary fish commonly known as a Grinnell throughout the South and it is technically known as a Bowfin. A ferocious predator with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth which usually destroys perfectly good spinnerbaits. Its name may come from the movie Jeremiah Johnson. During the movie Jeremiah was asked if he could skin Griz. (Referring to a grizzly bear) When a Grinnell blows up on your bait and you miss him your buddy will ask; what’s the matter, you can’t catch Griz?

Grinnell Knocker – My personal knocker was a one and one quarter inch wooden rod about three feet long. We very seldom carried a net and when you get a five or six pound Griz to the boat, it is imperative that you are able to defend yourself.

Also substitutes for a Yo Yo knocker. It is illegal to leave yo yos unattended and as we found such, we simply took it upon ourselves to teach the perpetrator a lesson. Game wardens can’t be everywhere and we were happy to help out.

By the way. Who told you that hanging yo yos was fishing? If you ain’t got a rod and reel in your hand, YOU AIN’T FISHIN’! (That means I was screaming at you!)  Yes Yo Yos make me want to say “%#*#$!”

Having a good day: This one is simple, going fishing! Most men believe that having a good day has something to do with keeping their wives happy. Terry also believes that is a key ingredient to happiness. If Carla’s happy, Terry may get to go fishing.

Hooked – As in; “I’m hooked on fishing.” Or, “%#*#$! I’ve hooked myself again!”  

Landing – Most of the time this is a reference to getting your fish to the boat. It also can indicate where you launched your boat. Or, it can be used after you were running to get to your boat after launching and tying it up to the dock. You slip on a slick board that connects the bank to the dock and after a couple of flips and a twist; you “stick the landing” on the edge of the dock. This is followed by crying and holding on to the affected area of your body where the bones may be broken. This will NOT be followed by saying %#*#$! as you will be unable to speak for several minutes.

Liar – Refers to most fishermen. (At least ninety percent) It’s amazing. These guys simply can’t tell the truth. They always exaggerate their catch. If you don’t see pictures, they are lying. Don’t believe anything they tell you. Well Terry doesn’t lie about his catch, he’s very good at fishing and his stories can always be taken seriously.

As an example, JB and I were heading to a medium sized lake to catch some bass. On the gravel road leading to the launching ramp we met a lake ranger. I had met him many times so we stopped to talk for a minute. We mentioned we had caught some white bass in this lake. He informed us that they had been active in the lake for a while. He also told us that he has caught two over 7 pounds! My brother asked to see the pictures. He replied that it wasn’t a big deal and he didn’t have any pictures. He has told his lie so much, he now believes it to be true. We said “goodbye” and headed for the ramp.

The problem with his statement is this: a 7 pound white bass would be the world’s record!!!! And he’s caught two?

We assume he has to carry extra clothes wherever he goes.

“Liar, Liar, Pants on fire!”

Ole Grinder – The name for my Zebco 33 I began my fishing career with. No matter how much Vaseline you put on those gears, you could not get them to quit making that grinding noise as you retrieved your lure or in my case your fish. I attest that it was simply worn out due to catching so many fish.

One Cranker – If you have a good outboard motor you know what this means. If you have to crank and pull the starting rope quite a few times, you need a better motor. If you do not understand this concept, it simply means that you are young and didn’t realize that motors didn’t used to have electric starters.

Pestilence – This term is interchangeable with high wind and many other natural disasters that mess up a good fishing day. Believe me, the earth is cursed…says so in the Bible. I can believe it from all the bad things that can happen to you because you love to fish. How many times have you left home pulling your boat and trailer, and the wind seems calm? Upon arriving at the lake, you wonder how you missed the gale force wind warnings on the weather channel.

Sometimes, it seems that no matter which direction you are attempting to fish, the wind is in your face again. But heed this: no matter how much fishermen complain about the wind, I’d rather fight the wind than calm water. Bass feed better with some kind of ripple on the water. The calm water seems to make them skittish. However, sometimes that ripple is known as white capping swales and you better be careful. But if you can tough it out, there are bass to be caught in the rough water.

PJ – Perch Jerker. Someone who attempts to catch small pan fish. This person will resort to any tactic they can to catch a fish, using all manner of bugs and minnows with, cover your ears, bobbers! This is also an angler who is not as prolific as Terry is at catching big bass, so they have to do what they have to do in order to catch enough fish for supper. (He said bobbers)(But he didn’t say %#*#$!)

Plug – A fishing lure. The artificial bait you are casting. There are many varieties so pick out your favorite and start chunkin’.

Also known as what keeps the water out of your boat. You fishermen think I was talking about the store-bought plug that fits perfectly in the hole in the back of the boat in order to drain it after a rain or if your boat leaks. Well, I wasn’t, everyone knows about that. I’m talking about the stick you put in the hole in the bottom of the boat you just shoved off the bank of an oxbow lake you walked 20 minutes to get to. Sometimes mean people would punch holes in boats left on these lakes. A little hole in the bottom never stopped us. You simply find a stick or a root that sort of fits in the hole and push the boat in the water. Although the fishing buddy in the back may have to hold his foot on it to keep it from coming out and sinking the boat.

If you know you have a hole like that in your boat you can fix it ahead of time. Simply put silicone around the stick and let it cure overnight. Works like new!

Rudder – A device that allows your boat to be steered or guided along the bank line as you fish. If you do not have a rudder, and you are sculling your small boat, the back end will try to come around and pass the front end. If you have an outboard motor on the back, that’s all you need. However, if you walk over to the many oxbows we fish, those are simply empty boats.

We have an invention that was made from an old trolling motor bracket, an old license plate (Arkansas preferably), a couple of small one-inch long screws, and a piece of three quarter inch PVC. You put that all together and hang it over the back of the boat and it works like magic.

If you leave home and realize you have forgotten said magic, you must improvise. One day we found an empty 3 liter drink bottle. We filled it about two thirds full and tied it just behind the back of the boat. Magic! Another day, no one had been polite enough to leave a 3 liter bottle so we tied a short thick log on the back. Magic!

That brings to mind an old saying from the deep south; A poor man has poor ways. Or as my nephew told me after sending him a picture of the log tied to the back of the boat: A stupid man has stupid ways. I could not argue.

Shocking Fish(erman) – I told the story in my fishing adventure book about three teenagers who attempted to shock the fish in a pond using an antique phone with a crank handle. They were young and stupid and certainly did not know what they were doing. After shocking themselves repeatedly, they pitched the apparatus into the pond and walked away. Two of them continued to say %#*#$! multiple times as they were walking away. The other did not as his mother would never allow that kind of language to be spoken.

As I said, those three were amateurs. My grandfather on the other hand, was a pro at shocking fish. Back about 1976 he started taking me fishing with him. To him, fishing meant setting out a trot line and a few yo yos. This would be followed by motoring back to the truck and commencing to drink up every bottle of liquor he had brought. He would then pass out and I would be left to run the trot line and yo yos. This was okay as I enjoyed pulling in the fish we caught. Then the next morning I would take everything up and drive him back home where my grandmother would tear into him for getting drunk again. Sometimes I would wonder why he wanted to get drunk. Oh well, maybe he deserved chewing out.

On one of these trips, he taught me something new. He pulled his truck up to the water’s edge. We popped the hood. He retrieved an old window weight with electrical wire attached from the bed of his truck. It seemed to be about fifty feet worth of double wire. He then drove a horseshoe stake into the shore right at the water line. He attached one of the wires to that and attached the other to his number one plug on his V-8 pickup. He cranked up the motor and revved it up! Fish in the area began to surface rapidly. He had instructed me to be ready to jump into the boat and paddle out quick as soon as he killed the motor. I was netting fish left and right. It was exciting for a few minutes but I learned quickly that proper fishing is done with a rod and reel so I never tried that one again.

I’ve heard that the only thing more accomplished at catching fish is dynamite. I’m kind of glad me and my buddies never had any, I feel certain we would have given it a go.

Stump Jumper – If you fish as many old river lakes as we have, this is what your boat turns into. You better make sure you have the heavy duty aluminum boat.

And this can also lead to losing the motor off the back of the boat four times. (See Terry’s fishing adventure book.)

Tumped over – Most know this term to mean when you turn over your wheel barrel that was previously loaded with dirt, or cement, or any other heavy material.

The proper usage of the term references your boat as you have leaned over too far to net a fish, gig a frog, hang a dreaded yo yo, or many other actions that may cause the boat to lean too far to one side.

And yes, my friends would always say %#*#$! after I tumped the boat over with them in it, again!