Today shouldn't have been a good fishing day. Our trip to the lake was merrily to lock up the lake house right after the floor covering people leave. This would also allow us a few minutes to fish. Our time was limited because of a prior commitment NP had in the evening.
We knew that all we would have, would be an hour to fish,, before we would have to head back home.. The wind was blowing strong and gusting 20-30 mph, out of the NE. It was cold and I told NP that we needed to cast the fishing rods out as fast we could. I told Neal Patrick that I doubt we would be successful, with such windy conditionsl. Five minutes after casting the last reel out, NP got the” big hit”.
You can't always tell the size of the fish at first. Sometimes what appears to just a 8-10 10 pounder, turns out to be much larger. This was the case here. It was only when NP got the fish half way reeled in, that the big fish decided to make his run, letting us know that he was not to be taken easily. . The large FlatHead put up one awesome fight. I forgot to bring the camera, so I couldn't take pictures of the battle, which was sort of bitter-sweet for NP. Neal Patrick only wants me to net the fish and not fiddle with taking pictures when the action is heated. I think he is afraid that my divided focus will somehow cause him to lose a large fish. NP also realized my camera was his only "proof of catch". Landing the large fish would be great, but it would only be a tall tale, with out “proof of catch”.
It was a good thing I didn't have the camera, because this fish was very hard to net.
A neighbor just happened to be passing by in his bass boat while the battle with large fish was raging. Robert, our lake neighbor, a few homes down, is a big bass fisherman. He is one of only a few black "bass fisherman on
Robert tried to offer me advise on how net the fish. This was due to the fact, I appeared to him to be struggling in my attempt to net the fish. The problem I was having, was the fish was actually larger than the net! Robert was unaware of this at the time. He was only trying to being nice and helpful which is his nature. He thought I was doing it wrong, so he was yelling advice on how to net the fish from his boat.. It was only when he saw the giant tail of the fish come up out of the water and smash it with a loud splash that he knew this was no small fish. When it splashed loudly for a second time, he realized my net was over matched by the sheer size of this large fish. I heard him let out a loud yell “Whoo-Hee!!!!!!!!”. He immediately quit offering advise, knowing I knew what I was up against, realizing that I knew how to net the fish and was only waiting for the right moment.
NP and I landed the large fish safely. My son was really pumped from the battle. He was on top of the world. I was excited for him, however we had no camera, therefore "no proof of catch" . What does a good Dad do in a situation like this? Well I can attest the fact that a good Dad, will drive 40 minutes to get a camera for his son who he loves dearly. I did this so my son would have the pictures to back up his story. We don't like to kill fish, this is why we take photos. NP kept the fish in a 30 gallon trash can full of lake water until I returned. The big fish was released unharmed and swam away. We all were very happy, including the fish who was let go.
I have learned the importance of keeping the darn camera at the lake. I don't want to make any more 70-75 mph back home trips on a winding country road, just to get a camera. I've also learned that I can remove some of the excuses listed for not catching fish on a previous post. The ones that fell by the wayside today were:
1. Lucky fishing hat- Neal Patrick didn't wear a hat today
2. Our $200 rod and reel combos don't always catch the largest fish. We had 5 in the water and it was the cheap reel combo that caught all the large fish this week. It was also the smallest reel, so "size does not matter", only in terms of the fish.
3. NE wind at 20-30 didn't stop this fish from biting.
4. Time of day, this fish was caught at 5:45 pm, normally consider to early for large catfish to bite.
What a great way for NP to end the week, catching his second largest fish ever, a 40lb catfish. He ended catching 85lbs worth fish in 3 outings. This was fantastic considering fact that he didn't catch any fish one day. Neal Patrick fished no more than 5 hours total for the whole 3 days. NP has really become a good fisherman, considering he only started seriously fishing late spring of last year.. It all started on May 15, 2006, when he landed his first large fish.(see "May archives"). His catches of large fish have exceeded the lifetime catches for large fish of many fisherman, including myself. It's amazing that he is only 14 and has a lot great fishing years left ahead of him.
I'm watching my son slowly change. The bass fisherman who was watching from his boat, went home and brought his son back by car to see the big fish. NP let the young man who is much older than him reel in another large fish while he was there. This happened all during the time I went on my camera trip. It was hard to believe, that this is the same son who dares me to grab a rod, when he hears the faintest jingle of the rod. Not only did NP let this stranger reel in the fish, but he also showed the Robert's son, his secrets on catching the large fish. Neal Patrick is slowly becoming the teacher I want him to be. It did my heart good to see see he was paying forward the lessons he learned from fishing. The torch has been passed, NP has become the teacher and he is finally seeing the importance of sharing the joy of fishing with someone not as skilled.
This week ended on a high note for both me and my son. I will miss him dearly when he goes back to his mother tomorrow. NP knows his Dad can catch fish, but he learned that his Dad gets more joy from seeing him catch fish. He knows his Dad takes pride in the fact that he is learning to do the same with others.
Seeing the passing of the torch is priceless in terms of the way it makes a father feel. I was a very proud of my son today. It was a wonderful week for me, I couldn't ask for a better way to wind it up.
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