Caelan had a point. Where would he go? It wasn't safe alone anywhere in any of the more populated areas and Dusty had no idea of the state of the world elsewhere. For all he knew, it could be worse. And the Bayou would chew him up and spit him out.<br/><br/>"We gonna fix dat today. You not being able to swim, I mean," he decided, resolute. "Not like my pa taught me. He trew me off da boat one day and let instinct take ova." Dusty wasn't that sort of teacher, and had exhibited patience in teaching Caelan useful skills that came second nature to Dusty. Not being able to swim was a surprise, and now he understood the reluctance to be on the boat at all. Not only could the wild life be dangerous, but so was the water itself.<br/><br/>"You kill it in dis heat and the meat will spoil soona. You thump it because odawise it'll flail, and you don't want to catch one of dose spines, or a hook in your hand. Whiskers are fine, but they are tough and bony, so it's harder to get da hook out." Dusty picked the limp fish up to show him what he meant, sliding a finger under the fin to show him the spines. "Got venom in da spines. Noting dangerous, but don't feel good, no." It wasn't the most human, no, but self preservation was more important in certain instances. There was no ice to be kept in coolers any longer. Just a<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fidfg.idaho.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Fgallery_image_main%2Fpublic%2Fmedia%2Flivewell_bass.jpg%3Fitok%3DLRj0taGm&amp;hash=81a005c37c53d9fc8d383d9606c5ccbc" href="https://idfg.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_image_main/public/media/livewell_bass.jpg?itok=LRj0taGm" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">livewell</a>welded in the boat's storage compartment. He opened it and turned a valve, using it to turn and oxygenate the water, then tossed the cat inside before closing it.<br/><br/>"Only need to really thump catfish. Probably gar too, cause dey got saws for teeth," he said with a laugh, "but gar not on my list of things I'd like to catch today. Sure, i'll eat em but dey are foul to handle and bring in. Will sometimes just grab your line for da hell of it, not even grab da bait." Said the man who was looking forward to bringing up a gator.<br/><br/>Dusty moved to help Caelan, getting a feel of his line before he concluded that his rig was lost.<br/><br/>"You work with it a little. Feel it out, and try to unsnag," he explained, raising the pole and gently moving it this way and that without any harsh jerks that might seat the hook more solidly. Eventually he brought up a hefty heap of moss and algae. He handed the pole back, for Caelan to unburden the hook and continue.<br/><br/>"Betta try again. You ain't a rabbit. Need to put some meat on your bones, not green algae."