For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for August 11, 2024

I had the same green tackle box when I was April’s age!

I don’t understand the next-to-last panel. Where did the gull drop the bait that so horrified John??

Another in the long series of comic strips featuring John and the kids fishing. In every single one, it goes badly for John and today is no exception. On the other hand, Lynn Johnston does an excellent job drawing the Lake Superior sea gull in the only one of her comic strips to feature this bird.

It ptood it right in his face…

Nincompoops.

John is lucky it was a gull and not a vulture.

That bird had a lot of “Gull.”

My, what big lips April has in the final panel!

When fishing once on an Alaskan cruise. We were fishing for salmon. At one point there was something wrong with the bait which was a small fish. Took it off the hook and threw it into the water. Along came an eagle and swooped it out of the water. If only I’d had a camera to record it.

This comic took a tern for the worst.

When I was 12, on a fishing vacation with my grandparents, I went fishing for gulls on a day when the fish weren’t hitting. No hooks, just a chunk of chum tied to my line. Birds would grab it, try to fly away and then drop the bait after a few seconds of fight. Granddad was, rightly, angry when he woke from his nap and saw what I was doing.

As a dedicated Surf caster , Been there Done that , It is no fun try to unhook a angry Gray Gull !

My brother caught a duck, once. Hooked his tongue. Very sad.

Glad to see Elizabeth had a better attitude than she did last week. Maybe her grandfather had a stern talk with her that being a teenager is no excuse for a sulky attitude and it is time to start being part of the family.

You have to let out enough line so that the seagull completely swallows the fish or else he spits it up/

Years ago while trolling for salmon I had an eagle take my fish. He/She was not letting go and after making a few turns around the boat 50→60 feet away I cut the line. Last we seen was the eagle with fish and a 14 inch flasher (part of the hook/bait thing) flashing in the sun on its way to the top of the Malahat near Victoria BC.

Reminds me of a video clip a while back and the story froma church member when she visited her family back in the UK. In both instances, a man had purchased a sandwich and was eating it while sitting on a park bench . Along comes a sea gully and snatches the sandwich from their hand and makes off with it. The sistuation with the church member’s BIL, inspired her to write a children’s book, illustrated by her sister called ‘Eagle The Sea Gull’ about her BIL’s encounter. There were two more books in the series.

Funny seagull and Aprils look cute in a orange life jacket

Yep, sometimes fun is where you find it.

Please do not feed birds where people are fishing. It is sad that many birds get tangled in the line and die.

Looks like all that John got back was the last of the bait fish the bird had. The girls threw the rest away to the birds.

Many years ago when 2 young boys and 1 girl) went fishing, we bought them some live band to help them catch something… but they didn’t… and after giving up, they decided to set free the last “live” bait they had…. and dumped it isn at the lakeshore… and along came a nice sized pike… and gobbled it up!!

Bombardier Birdy !

Was the tackle shop founded by a gal named Rosie? d;o)

LOL.. That was the ONLY one that got away… from the gulls ;)

I like that Liz has April behind her when the demon gull comes careening towards them.

the drawings are so good it’s almost like being there!

Next time, look before you cast.

The sea gull caught a poor fish