Fishin' on the FOB

Thanks to my friends Felix and Caroline, I am now fully-outfitted to engage in some combat-zone fishing! (Thanks, you two!) Although I had planned to spend a couple of hours today angling for wiley carp and catfish, I was the Lone Ranger on the FOB this weekend, so was stuck in the office until this evening. I did manage to get my line wet, learned some helpful fishing tips from 3 civilian contactors (the local carp prefer Slim Jim chunks to anything else), and finally reeled in a big, fat...turtle! (Yep, I yelled, "Terp On!" to everyone's amusement.) I successfully released the turtle without hurting him (it?). As you can see from the photos, our fishing area has been thoughtfully equipped with protection from indirect fire, which adds to the bucolic setting. As I headed off in to the Iraqi sunset, I swore those carp were calling after me, "Bring more Slim Jims!" (NOTE: NO TURTLES OR FISH WERE HARMED DURING THE MAKING OF THIS BLOG...)