A Fish Tale

By Duane Anderson

Van Aikman, who recently passed away, was the consummate School/College Relations Officer from Sac State. He was clearly the most diligent, innovative, and successful leader among California higher education outreach officers. The agreements and liaisons he nurtured resulted from hard work and dedication to serving Sac State and all students.

He was also a fanatical and very successful fisherman. We camped and fished together throughout the Sierras and our local rivers. There are many tales to tell. After work and on weekends we often fished the American River within a few miles of the campus. One fall evening I met Van at the Watt Avenue parking lot. We were going after steelheads. Van had a VW van with a boat rack on top. We fished out of a 12 ft. Sears fiberglass boat with a 5hp motor. We brought along our best rods and reels and favorite lures, (usually night crawlers).

It was a pleasant evening as we motored across to the north shore and faster water and began fishing. Van was up front and I ran the motor. It was initially uneventful and unsuccessful. Then, in a desperate attempt to cast out further, he gathered his strength and angled his colorful Orange spoon for maximum distance. Unfortunately, his back swing resulted in the three inch hooking my ear. Since it was a barbed hook, swung with unusual gusto, I screamed to him to stop trying to jerk the lure free from whatever kept it from flying out. Overcoming his initial shock, the apologies began. “I’m so sorry.” “I didn’t realize the back swing could reach you.” “Gee, can I help you get it out of your ear?” “I’m so sorry.” Etc. etc.

You can’t move around much in a 12 ft. boat. I could not extract the hook. So to prevent any more attempts at casting, I cut the line and left the spoon hanging from my ear. We motored back across to the parking lot and loaded the boat on Van’s van and in separate cars headed for Kaiser Morse Avenue Hospital. Van was quite upset by the ordeal and in our haste he left his fishing rods leaning up against some bushes.

The ER intake nurse, without looking up, asked, ”What are you here for? (now looking up) Oh, I see!” She then enjoyed a joyful laugh, calling her associates to come see this new earring, etc, etc. Then they all had a good laugh and the ER doctor, who tried to be serious, gave in to discussions about styles of ornamentation before he made a small slice at the top of the ear and removed the hook. Actually, the barb stuck in the cartilage and did not hurt at all. With the excitement over, we left. Me in my car and Van in his van.

You may recall that the Kaiser Emergency Room access road had a metal barrier above it, at least on the outbound side. It was probably a clearance of 8 ft. With Van going out first and me right behind him, the boat hit the barrier and sprang up in the air, off the van, and landed within inches of my car. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, etc. etc.” So we reloaded the boat on the van, beyond the barrier, and I gave Van my best wishes for a safe journey home, and a five minute head start.

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