My Dad turned 82 last Thursday, and he loves fishing. He does not hunt, hike, boat, camp, picnic, or do anything else outdoors other than fish (and he never has done any of those other things). But, when he does get to fish, he loves it; especially on his annual trips to Canada to catch 40" Northern Pike or Walleye.
My Mom does not do any of those items either, except the occasional picnic with the great grand kids. It's kind of hard for me to start trying to love something new at my age that I've never done much of in my life. I have no regrets though.
I was never in Scouts, and was not drawn to it. I never had any friends that did anything outside either. My entertainment and de-stressing circle was and still is: movies, books, music, concerts, fast cars, good food, history, museums, baseball, and nice hotels. Pam says I am a "Marriott Man". I'll take it.
This past June, while dining on the Junkyard Dawgz (yes, a spurge day), with my good friend Kelly Wood, the subject turned to fishing. Kelly and I became friends about 8 years ago from his days of selling us high quality furniture at Mathis. Then, he went to work with us for awhile before our company went through a transition phase. Kelly was a past professional fisherman, and has gone full circle to return to the professional fisherman circuit. We talked extensively about fishing that day, and we decided to plan a fishing trip in the fall for my Dad.
Fast forward 5 months, and the weekend for our fishing trip was upon us. Here are some pictures of our trip:
Our cabin, built in 1943 by enemy POW soldiers from Japan and Germany, whom were encamped at nearby Ft. Bragg. The shell is original. The floor was originally dirt, the roof was originally thatch, the bathroom was originally outside as an outhouse. As cabins go, I guess this is normal. I don't really know, as this was only the 2nd cabin I've ever stayed in in my life. It had one bed (for Dad), and we had to place all furniture outside in order to make room for our air mattresses to sleep on.
The bathroom was so tiny that the sink was placed in the bedroom. Most showers are 3 x 4. This one was 2 x 1.5, so do the math. Oh sorry, never mind Angela. Let me do it for you. 3 x 4 = 12, and 2 x 1.5 = 3. 3 into 12 is 1/4th the normal shower size. So, let's just say that this shower was so small that a child over age 5 would have a tough time fitting into it. It was so small that you couldn't lift your legs to rinse them, and if you did, your butt cheeks were hanging out the backside taking the curtain with it to flood the floor. Yep, word picture; it happened to me . . .
Plus, have you ever sat on a stool and the seat was so small that you had to lift the seat to have room to sit down on the rim? Yep, word picture; it happened to me . . .
And oh the joys of sleeping with 3 men that get up in the night to pee. 2 x for me, 5 x for Kelly, and 2 x for Dad. Let's see, math problem again honey, that totals 9 x that the bathroom door squeaked to wake everyone in the room. (We had to close the door after using each time as the bathroom light was the only way to see our way as we walked sideways to the bathroom.)
Our view from the cabin at Greenleaf State Park looking at our fishing destination.
Loading up for our first trip onto the water. Kelly's Bass Boat is a Beast. 250 hp engine, giddy up!
Here fishy-fishy. The fish outsmarted us for this trip. A most unfortunate reality of fishing. And as Kelly says, 'that is why they call it fishing, and not catching.'
Heading out for Day 2 of the trip. It was a cold morning, with north winds. Made for difficult conditions.
We fished for about 3.5 hours on Friday afternoon, plus another 3 hours Saturday morning, and 3 more hours Saturday afternoon. The total bass tally? You're looking at it! And Kelly caught it.
Good thing that Kelly brought us about 10 lbs of catfish for our 'fish fry', just in case we got skunked, which we did . . .
And oh the catfish. It was incredibly delicious. Kelly says it is all about how you clean and cut the meat from the catfish. He had hooked a 50 lb 'blue', and it netted 15 lbs of usable meat. It was some the best that I have ever tasted.
All told, we really did have a great time fishing. So much so that we already planned a Crappie fishing trip to Okmulgee on June 6th. Here's to hoping that our tally will be HUGE!
And a very special thanks to Kelly for helping to make my Dad's 82nd birthday gift a special time.
My Dad is 82. Wow. I truly am a blessed man.
