Watching Hands

By Jeff Kurrus

A pair of sunglasses usually does the trick when I fish. Not to prevent glare or protect my eyes from the sun’s powerful rays – instead, I cover my eyes so I can watch the hands of my fishing partner’s. Are they moving fast? Slow? Are they twitching or stopping? Are they high? Or low?

I watch because any movement lets me know what I should be doing. If the fish are very active for my partner, I can copy. If they’re not, I can try something different. 

And the glasses offer me just enough protection so my partner doesn’t always know I’m staring, and that I have few original ideas on the water. I just hope he does. 

Even in the dark I'm watching hands, just this time with a little bit of flash bouncing off of them.