This should be an interesting day

[Fishing Rhino]

was the thought that went through my mind.

The stepson of the lady who is gracious enough to allow me access to my favorite pond has been here on vacation.

I offered to take him fishing while he was here, which I must admit, I had hoped he would decline.  Nonetheless, in appreciation for her hospitality, it was more than a fair bargain.

When I arrived this morning, he was ready and raring to go.  he had with him some spincast rig that looked like it came from a bargain bin at a yard sale, complete with a little red and white bobber, and all.

I anticipated as much, so I brought a couple of my spinning rods with Shimano Saros reels for him to use.  I had to switch the handle to the opposite side since he likes to reel right handed.

He brought his tackle box, which was quite sad as well, just in case.

We ventured forth and he began to cast.  His casts were as ungainly as you can imagine.  He cast so that his line came out at a right angle to the pole.  Then, he held the pole at the base rather than at the reel.

Be patient Tom, what's the worst that can happen.  Maybe I'll get lucky, and he won't catch a fish.  Alas, that was not to be.

I set him up with a t-bone wacky worm rig, figuring there was not much he could do wrong with that.   It was the only thing I was correct about.

Give the bait a few seconds before you begin to retrieve it.  Retrieve it with a twitch and pause or a jerk and pause.   But he just reeled at various speeds, barely moving the rod at all.

The first bass he caught, which was about a pound, he reeled in, right to the tip of the rod.  Thank goodness it was a small fish.

I explained that he needed to leave at least five or six feet of line between the rod tip and the fish.  That way, he could grab the twenty pound leader, and haul it over the side.

I caught a solid two pounder in the deeper water.

Then using his poor technique, he boated three more bass.

While his casting was unorthodox, his distance was excellent landing his rig right at the edge of the emergent vegetation.  His aim was so so.  He could manage to keep the bait within forty-five degrees of his intended target.

His handling of the fish improved, as he continued to catch them.

Then I realized it.  This guy is kicking my butt.  Retrieving it like a spinnerbait, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, sometimes in between, totally against the book.  But his count kept piling up, while I was adding to my total here or there.  He landed a few over two pounds.

By the trip's end, I had overtaken his stats, in count and size.  It had been a fun day.

It would have been even if he had continued to kick my butt all over the pound.

He was having the time of his life, lost nothing, and broke nothing.

It doesn't get any better than that.

[endless]

how old was he?and you probably made his day!! i honor you for that. do need i to ask"would you do it again" but anyways these are the stories i love to hear thank you!

[Fishing Rhino]

Absolutely. I would do it again.

By the way, about that fish I lost yesterday and ruled out a pick because I hadn't caught one in a while.

I had a similar hookup today. Not quite as strong, but it did peel line from the spool and fought in a very similar manner.

I landed it, and it was a pickerel, so that "large bass" of yesterday was most likely a large pickerel.

Neither the one yesterday, nor the one today, made the blazing runs for which pickerel are famous.

I wasn't sure about today's fish until I got it to the boat, and could see it.

I think he's about fifty, give or take a few years.

[endless]

Absolutely. I would do it again.

By the way, about that fish I lost yesterday and ruled out a pick because I hadn't caught one in a while.

I had a similar hookup today. Not quite as strong, but it did peel line from the spool and fought in a very similar manner.

I landed it, and it was a pickerel, so that "large bass" of yesterday was most likely a large pickerel.

Neither the one yesterday, nor the one today, made the blazing runs for which pickerel are famous.

I wasn't sure about today's fish until I got it to the boat, and could see it.

I think he's about fifty, give or take a few years.

i hear the ponds i been fishing are loading with pickerels i just never landed one.

[Paul Roberts]

There's a good lesson there. The "book" can stand to have a lot of pages added to it.

I was once the guest of a young kid who had a similar tackle box -a hand-full of pitiful lures and some old snelled hooks with worms dried on.

He chose his favorite, a cheap chrome crankbait, that was so badly out of tune it literally spun circles as he retrieved it -as fast as he could. And he caught four good bass before I caught my first.

That's one page in the "book" I've yet to repeat -exactly. Don't think I could stand an out of tune crank.

Last year I caught a couple smallies on a wacky'd stick worm, when I was retrieving it quickly to re-cast. That's not out of the book though -It's a tip-off that they want some more speed.

Love your posts FR. Lots of fun details.

[CWB]

Absolutely. I would do it again.

I think he's about fifty, give or take a few years.

You've got a big heart and patience to match. Sounds like old school almost got schooled. God bless you for taking the time to take him out. I can't even begin to count the number of hours I've spent untangling lines, baiting hooks, unhooking fish etc. but in the end I always get a good feeling.