Carvins Cove is located in Roanoke,VA. At one point in time it was known as Hollins,VA. It is about five miles away from the Women’s College Hollins University. I remember my first trip to Carvins Cove, I was about six years old and my grandfather and I had gone fishing. Now this is not the first time that we have been fishing but it was one of the first times that I caught a fish. See this day started out very early we got up and it was still dark and the night before he bought me my first fishing pole which was canary yellow and if I could put it in normal words it looks like Bumble Bee the transformer if it were fishing pole. Then we packed lunches I distinctly remember it was ham and cheese sandwiches with apple juice and M&Ms and celery. I distinctly remember this because he let me pick out the candy and my grandma made sure we packed vegetables and at the time I guess you could say I had a celery fetish, plus, who doesn’t love a ham and cheese?
After we packed our lunches we made the drive to Hollins, right before we went up the long winding road to Carvins Cove we stopped at the gas station and got a big styrofoam bowl of nightcrawlers. They live around the cove, which is why they were so easy to come by,but what I learned that day was when they are warmed by the light they are reflective so when they make contact with water or is impaled on a fishing hook they give off a shimmery hue. We went up a long windy road which I have never been sure of its name. Although the drive to Carvins Cove is very peaceful, if you don’t drive carefully you could drive off the side of the mountain because there are no guardrails. I guess you can say in a way I was a little afraid even though I trusted my grandfather.
When we got there we walked down to the dock and sat to start threading and baiting my fishing hook. It was one of the most peaceful things that I have done, sitting and watching the ripples in the cove. I loved going and sitting and having that moment of serene peace. The lake was a great spot because it doesnt have any human made noise pollution. You would think a small child wouldn’t realize peacefulness of something but it was easy to get swept up in listening to the water lapping the bank and hearing the wind blow through the trees and smelling the Earth. This was memorable because not only did this help to introduce me to nature,but I got to spend time with my grandfather and start to build aa real relationship with him.
When I was younger he was often at work so I didn’t even really see him so this was a special treat for me. My granddad died when I was seven so this was one of the last times to be in a moment with him. I just remember something about him telling me how you have to jiggle the rod just enough to make the fish want to come, but not too much to the point that they don’t come near your bait.
