By April Garon

NATCHEZ — Andrea Marvel watched the fishing line closely, waiting for a fish to bite.

The line swayed in the strong Mississippi River wind, but she hadn’t caught a fish yet.

But she kept waiting and watching.

“I want to make a believer out of myself,” Marvel said. “I want to get a good fish.”

Natchez native Marvel decided she would go fishing if she got the chance. When The Dart landed near the Natchez-Adams County Port Thursday, Marvel had chosen a boat ramp near the river as her fishing spot.

Marvel was taking a break from caring for her ailing 84-year-old, hospitalized mother. Marvel’s mom suffers from congestive heart failure. Marvel takes care of her mother most days, feeding her and bathing her. She’s been sleeping at the hospital recently.

Marvel looked out on the water while she sat on a bucket in which her fishing pole was balanced.

“I decided to chill out at the waters and take a breath of fresh air,” Marvel said. “It’s restful and regenerates the mind.”

After waiting a while, she decided to reel in her line to re-cast. To her surprise, a fish was on the hook.

“Baby, I was excited,” Marvel said. “I saw my pole kept shaking and moving and I thought it was the wind, but (the fish) went for that catch.”

While Marvel gingerly slid the Gaspergou off the hook, she said it was the first time she’d ever un-hooked a fish. Her thoughts trailed back to her mother.

“When she’s going through her pain, I feel it also,” Marvel said. “I need a break from it, and right now I’m not thinking about that.”

Marvel cast her line again and watched the water.

“I’m on a fish bank, watching my line, in another world,” Marvel said.