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Blogs




HOME ON THE ALAPAHA


ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS WITH ANDREW CURTIS

Andrew Curtis | March 4, 2023



To say that this river is special to my family is an understatement. It has
cared for my kin for well over 200 years, ever since my Carter ancestors settled
in Lanier County in the 1700s. The Carter line unfortunately died with my
maternal grandfather, Robert Carter. He was also one of the last ones to live
there before moving away to Madison, Georgia after WWII. As the thriving town
began to dry up, my grandfather saw the farming community of home as a
safety-net occupation, choosing to try his hand in the business world first.
Naylor, Georgia could not support his big dreams, but the Alapaha River always
called him back.

There is not much to speak of in Naylor these days, unless you talk of the
beautiful river coursing through the land. That time-defying river seems to
sustain the few families of old remaining. Everyone I talk to who grew up there
speaks of the river as if it is a member of the town. Many have fished, swum,
played, camped, canoed and even been baptized on the banks of that quiet river.
For my grandfather who grew up in the Great Depression, the fishing was very
important as food was hard to come by in those days. His favorite fish to eat
out of the Alapaha was the redfin pike, and one of his favorite fishing
techniques for catching this tasty fish did not involve a fishing pole or even a
line and hook. He would simply lie on a log hanging out over the water and
suspend his hands in the water below the log. Patience was the game. Inevitably,
a pike would appear between his still hands and the log. The unsuspecting pike
would calmly hide in the shadow of the log, but with a quick flip of my
grandfather’s hands, the stunned pike would be tossed onto the bank. Repeating
this over and over, my grandfather would eventually head home with a sack full
of prized fish. 

To this day when I see a surface log adequate to support a person lying prone, I
think of my grandfather as a kid happily flipping those redfin pike out of the
water. I don’t see anyone doing that technique these days. I guess many kids are
too busy with electronics to “waste” a day lying on a log in the river. Many
kids have probably never caught or even seen a redfin pike. Many kids probably
do not know how to “read” a river. There is so much to be learned. The
responsibility to help teach falls on us adults.

I am so blessed to return my family to this river, to teach my boys the
importance of it in our lives. Fishing is so much more than recreation; it can
teach lessons about life. When Covid first hit a couple of years ago, one of my
initial thoughts was on survival. Could I take care of my family if couldn’t
rely on anyone else? Fortunately, my generation of Americans has not been truly
tested, and I pray that we are never faced with that kind of challenge. But if
we are, you can find me and my family at home on the Alapaha…




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MORE FROM GON


HOME ON THE ALAPAHA




GON MARCH ISSUE 2023




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February 2023 Issue

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