Fishing At Hartebeespoort Dam Poem by Gert Strydom

It was at Hartebeespoort dam,
that I was fishing for Carp,
with maize bombs,
some dips and floaters
when I saw a man
put a small roasted chicken
on huge hooks
and casting a thick line in
using a reel and rod
suitable for sea fishing.

I must admit that he
had downed a six-pack or two
and he said
that he was trying to catch catfish
and I knew that some crickets,
earthworms or even normal bait would do

but he said that divers
checking the dam wall
had seen catfish the size
of great white sharks
and were scared of them
as they were very vicious fish
that usually kept to the depths

and I silently went on fishing,
changing bait, casting in
and caught a couple of blue kurper,
three decent carps
and a yellow-fish
that leapt out of the water
while it tried to escape.

I was totally amazed
when the angler
with the chicken on the huge hooks
got a bite, smacked the rod,
hooked something
that with a mighty force
started running with his line
and tried to pull him
rod and all
right into the depths
of that big dam
and a couple of men
had to hold him,
as they were struggling
against an enormous thing.