He Thinks We’re Just Fishing

My last free Saturday before the volleyball juggernaut and just a couple weeks before Harrison goes back to college…(this August he will be off to Lewis University in Chicago to play 2 more years of college golf) found the two of us fishing side by side down Indian Creek in Lawrence County; as we hop scotched past each other from hole to hole, I couldn’t help but think of the new Trace Adkins song about his little girl and their fishing together. If you haven’t yet heard the song…please look it up as it is one of his best…and he has a slew of good ones to choose from.

The basis of the song is a parent and a kid sharing some time fishing…and as those of you who have shared time with your kid while wetting a line, it really isn’t all about the fishing. Now I must say that when we, Harrison and I, go fly fishing, we can get pretty serious as he is always competing, trying desperately to somehow catch more fish…or a bigger fish than me. Saturday, August 13th was exactly the same for us as even before I had stripped line off of my 3 weight, Harrison had already hooked up with a nice 12 inch smallie and made sure that he held onto it long enough to draw my attention. It was a nice fish and I gave him a celebratory nod and then dug in looking for my own bronze bombshell.

The water was murky after a mid-week thunderstorm left the stream stained and cloudy which makes for tough fishing…in fact I didn’t even catch a fish in the first hole and usually I can land 5 to 10 fish without even taking but a few steps. Silver was for sure the color of the day as bright and attractive was the only thing that worked for us…I tie a fly that resembles a medium size chub and it was the only fly we had much success with; Harrison tied on a size 6 hopper and caught several fish with it along the way but unfortunately none were too large.

As the morning progressed and the sun moved higher in the sky our silver flies started working a little better and we both caught a few nice fish and while my eldest had taken the first fish of the day…he wouldn’t get the big fish prize as I made a cross creek cast under a big wad of tree roots and slowly, erratically, stripped the fly back across the pool and could vaguely feel a tug and watched as a large flash disappeared below the fly; experience has taught me to move down the pool and bring the fly through the same piece of water, but from a different angle, which all too often will get a follow up strike from the same fish…and this was exactly the case as I slow drifted my chub down the pool and a very nice 16 incher engulfed my fly and a nice battle ensued. A minute or two later I was snapping a few nice photos of a beautiful smallmouth…oh, and I made sure that while 50 yards downstream, I got an acknowledgement from Harrison.

I took a few minutes to watch as Harrison fished from one of my favorite spots; a small, but elegant waterfall that often holds a nice fish just below the riffles. As he made a nice, rhythmic cast over the falls and into the pool, it took me back, a number of years to when I first put a fly rod in his hand and just as with his golf swing, I tried to make sure that his technique was good, his grip was correct and that he understood the concept of allowing the rod to load…and just like his golf swing, his fly-casting is a thing of beauty, that he will be able to take with him anywhere he goes in the world. His knowledge of water, how to single and double haul a fly line, how to use an upstream mend and how to strip set and land a fish will always be with him…just like his ability to chip a golf ball close and get it to check up hole high.

What hit me more was what a nice young man he has become and how proud I am of him…not just because he can hit a golf ball, cast a fly-rod or drop a pair of pheasants in front of a pointer, but his polite, caring and personal approach that he takes with all those he encounters. I realize that he is soon going to be off on his own, in pursuit of ‘his’ life…but for a few hours on a warm Saturday in August we shared a laugh, had a conversation or two, competed in our own quiet way and all this while he thought we were just fishing. If you haven’t made an outdoor experience lately…it is not too late, grab your gear and get going; if however, you are new to fatherhood, do yourself a favor, and your kids as well…and invest some time in the future as you both grow together and Enjoy the Great Outdoors.