Diamond Jim is another character who ya just can't miss down there in the pond. There are so many fish that look alike but some just have to stand out in their own little ways for good or bad. Diamond Jim isn't bad really he's just a real flashy kinda guy that swaggers around making sure everyone is looking at him. He's the guy you see that's in his 50s or 60s cruising around town in a corvette with big flashy diamonds on his hands trying to regain his youth. He's always eyeballing all the other fish and swimming in such a fashion that everyone has to notice him. He would certainly dye his gray hair jet black if he had any but I'm afraid Diamond Jim is bald just like the other bass in there. Just like those silly old men out to get a young chick in their middle age, Diamond Jim looks pretty foolish and isn't fooling anyone. However, Diamond Jim does have one thing that none of the other fish in the pond have... Now I don't know if this is what makes him carry on and swagger up and down the edge of the bank so but it sure is noticeable. He has what looks like a big ole diamond right above his left eye which sparkles and glitters each time he makes one of his elaborate twists and turns. I think he's a big show off as I'll watch him swimming perfectly normally patrolling down the bank and then when he gets close to where I'm sitting he almost turns all the way up on his side and starts flashing that big ole rock up at me. What a ham... He doesn't want food or anything he just wants to show off I guess.Now I don't know what caused him to get a big shiny diamond looking scale right there but it makes him stand out and with his behavior I always know when Diamond Jim is in the HOUSE!!!!!!!!! OH YEAH!
Well, I actually wrote all that above last night and didn't post it because I didn't have a photo of Diamond Jim and was hoping to get one today. It was partly cloudy but the sun did poke his head out long enough for me to get down there while it was out and get some pics. Thankfully Diamond Jim showed up and stayed long enough for me to get a bunch of photos of him, one of which was usable. I feel badly now after saying those mean things about him as I got to know him just a little bit better today. The age old lesson has gotta be learned still again by me... You just can't judge a book by it's cover... I think I had Diamond Jim all wrong. He was positively pathetic today. Shame on me for making fun of him...
My poor ole Mom and her husband came down today and helped me down at the pond. Her husband used to play football back in the dark ages when they still wore leather helmets but can still throw so took over my job of Quarterback today and passed all the balls so I could take photos. My poor ole Mom can barely throw a ball of bread five feet so we had to banish her to the chair to watch. Most of the bass ate and left but Diamond Jim stuck around cruising the bank hunting (he doesn't eat anything I feed). He was after bluegill today and didn't appear to be looking for flying bugs. There were tons of bluegills suitable for him and he did make many runs but just wasn't successful. Perhaps that's why he's kinda thin. Maybe he doesn't see too well out of the "Diamond" eye? Maybe I'm a mean, awful person for making fun of him? Maybe that's why he lies way on his side when he travels the bank like that? Gawdddd I'm awful.... Mean as I can be... I thought he was being flashy...
After at least a couple hours of unsuccessful hunting Diamond Jim came to a stop in front of us and just sat and watched us for a long, long time. We watched right back. My Mom threw in a piece of bread meaning to throw to the bluegill but as she can't throw worth a hoot it landed in front of Diamond Jim and much to our surprise he took it! He has never taken anything before! He turned and spit it back out but he was hungry enough that I guess he was sitting there finally telling us that he was ready to try to eat what we were throwing in.
I reached over for the bowl of meat I had brought for the bass - today's menu was wild turkey thigh meat cut into bite size pieces. I tossed a piece to Diamond Jim and he snatched it right up! He ate a few more pieces and then was full. By then it was time for us to head back. I felt good that Diamond Jim won't go to sleep hungry tonight. Today won't be the first time I've had to learn the lesson about judging a book by it's cover but just maybe I won't keep forgetting it if I can remember poor old Diamond Jim's little face.... By the way, Diamond Jim is about 2 inches shorter than a concrete building block.
Time for bed and if nothing really astounding happens tomorrow then I'll introduce Sally Slither Snake who I see often and got a couple photos of today. See ya at the bass pond..
