the variety of fish. A good
fisherman needed the depth
of knowledge and experience
to be able to pivot or creatively
problem-solve.
“They had no resources and
just plain had to figure it out
on their own,” Taylor says.
By the time he was about
12, Taylor and his buddies
would be dropped off at the
beach where they would
head for the piers. At Johnnie
Mercers, the first stop would
be the huge display cooler
with a sliding glass top that
could hold as many as 70-80
king mackerel caught that
day. Fishermen would bring
their fish to the cooler, write
their name and the weight
on a piece of paper, and
slap it on the side of the wet
fish to identify it when they
collected their catch at the
end of the day. The display
cooler would also lure in
people off the street to see
what was being caught that
day, and hopefully to coax
them to get their poles to try
their luck.
The boys then strolled
along looking at what was
being caught, ending up at
the far end of the pier where
the serious fishing was done,
according to a strict pecking
order. There were no kids
here, but men in their 20s
and up.
There were a limited
number of prime spots and
the long-term goal of Taylor
and his friends was to earn a
place here where they could
carve their own notch for
their pole and become a part
of the elite group.
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