When Clive was six years old,

[Bassim]

I am wondering if my sentence is grammatically correct.

When Clive was six years old, his father took him to the river to show him how to bait a hook, cast a line and gut fish.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

It looks fine to me!

 

[Skrej]

I agree, although you also hear 'clean' fish.

 

[emsr2d2]

I might end with "gut a fish" for symmetry with the rest of the sentence. In the original, "hook" and "line" are singular but "fish" is plural.

 

[Tdol]

Wouldn't he have to catch a fish between casting a line and gutting a fish?

 

[Bassim]

Tdol,

Of course, but I thought it is understandable that they caught a fish before cleaning it.

 

[emsr2d2]

I know nothing about fishing but I can see how it's possible to teach someone how to bait a hook, cast a line and gut a fish, but isn't catching a fish a matter of luck - not something that can be taught?

 

[GoesStation]

I know nothing about fishing but I can see how it's possible to teach someone how to bait a hook, cast a line and gut a fish, but isn't catching a fish a matter of luck - not something that can be taught?

You evidently never went fishing with a really experienced person. I remember standing in a southern Indiana stream, idle, while a friend standing right next to me pulled out one fish after another. He was responding to the sensation of the fish nibbling on the worm by jiggling the pole just the right amount to set the hook. I jiggled either too late or too hard nearly every time.

 

[Bassim]

I do not know much about fishing either. But I have seen a few times people fishing in the river in my hometown and using the same kind of bait. One catches just one fish and another twenty. It can't be just a matter of luck.

 

[GoesStation]

Fishing enthusiasts often spend a lot of money on fancy equipment. One day I was walking with a friend and he said, "Let's go fishing." We walked down to a stream and found a couple of sticks. He kept a bit of fishing line and a few hooks in a matchbook in his pocket, so after digging a few worms out of the bank we were soon in business.

After an hour or so, we packed up and continued our walk. We bumped into another friend who had also been fishing, and showed us his hundreds of dollars of fancy tackle and expensive lures. Like us, he had caught three fish.

 

[emsr2d2]

You evidently never went fishing with a really experienced person.

I can assure you I've never been fishing at all. I'm vegan so am ethically/morally opposed to killing animals whether for food or for "fun". That's why my comments in post #7 were mere conjecture/guesswork.

 

[Bassim]

emsr2d2,

I respect that you are vegan, but I can't imagine living without eating fish. I eat a lot of vegetables, but if I have not eaten fish at least twice a week I don't feel well.

 

[emsr2d2]

Then it's just as well that I'm not expecting you to go vegan! It's my choice, and your choice is yours.

 

[GoesStation]

I can assure you I've never been fishing at all. I'm vegan so am ethically/morally opposed to killing animals whether for food or for "fun". That's why my comments in post #7 were mere conjecture/guesswork.

The chickens enjoyed the fish my friend brought home from that outing, I suppose. There weren't enough for a human meal so he just tossed them all over the fence into the chicken pen as we approached his house.