Fishing for Well-Trout

Alicia and I had a little kerfuffle yesterday while sampling. Our bladder pump came disconnected from the tubing as we were lowering it down the well and it fell down to the bottom with a kersplash! Panic ensued and we called the project manager who was doubtful it would be successful but suggested we go to the store and buy fishing line, hooks and sinkers and try to fish it out. He had heard it done before to get lightweight items out of a well, but never a whole stainless steel pump.


So, four shops later we found one that carried the necessary fishing supplies during the "off-season" and we began our fishing expedition. Alicia fished while I sampled the next well with a different kind of pump and then we traded off. We tried different fishing techniques...




I was a little lazier and hooked the string to a stick for the more traditional method of bouncing the line and waiting for a bite.

"No way!" I said to myself, trying to contain the excitement I felt when the line went tight and my stick began to bend under the weight of a mysterious "big one" at the end of my line. I began reeling 'er in slowly making sure I didn't jerk the line free, as my dad taught me years ago on the lake. If it works for fish, it must work for pumps. Once the pump was in sight coming up the well, I shouted to Alicia across the field to share the excitement.

"Dad, I caught the big one!" My dad will be so proud. He is an expert fly fisherman and I want him to know I remembered what he taught me about fishing (although I'm not experience with fly fishing) What a silver beauty, weighing all of about 5 pounds and measuring about 12 inches.
At least we can tell the boss we didn't lose the very expensive pump after all!