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| "A Story That Just Has to Be Told" |
| By Steve Gisi of Ipswich, SD | 07/03/07 |
| You don't always need high-end tackle to catch fish... |
This is a story that just has to be told. If I had not seen it for myself, I would have never believed it.
This past weekend we were fishing on Lake Oahe, the “river”, for those familiar with SD.
Rene, Mark and I went out just for a few hours on Sunday. Yes, Mother’s Day it was.
Anyhow, there we are catching fish as the fishing is pretty good right now. Almost too easy. That is a hint to those who are out-of-state and may be thinking of a trip to get over here and fish.
Mark is, as usual, playing with the minnows, worms etc. Rene is complaining that she hasn’t caught a fish yet and we are about to head for home. Mark decides he wants to fish. So, out comes the Sponge Bob rod. (It floats, where his other one didn’t and it is now at the bottom of Richmond Lake!) So, he’s going through my tackle box and picks out this pink floater thing and says that he wants this on his rod. Before, all he had was a steel leader used to hold the Plankton casting plug just to keep him thinking he is fishing.
Well, he wants this pink thing, so OK, what the heck. Rene ties it on, I think with just a couple of square knots, no real fishing knot because she isn’t the fishing whizz that I am. If you’re wondering where I am, I’m trying to control the boat in the wind so we don’t beach it in the rocks, thank you!
So she gets it all ready and needs bait. Since she will not touch a leech, I hook on a leech and he is fishing, playing in the water with the rod, drawing circles with the rod tip in the water, you know.... fishing.
Drops it once, yes, it floats. We get it back and he continues to fish. He gets pretty quiet and I look over to see that he has pressed the button to release line off the reel. Now, I’m not sure how much he let off, but it had to be all but about an inch of what was on the reel! I’m guessing close to 75 yards or so.
I instruct him to start reeling in. OK, so I said a few other words, too. But he starts to reel it in. He’s reeling it in for what seems like forever, and his little pink thing is still nowhere to be seen. So he finally tells Rene to reel it in because he’s tired. I wonder why! That little rod probably has a 4-cranks-to-one-foot-ratio.
But she starts to reel. She is reeling in and she is starting to get tired when I notice that the rod is bent over a little more than a pink floater would cause. I joke to Rene that there is probably a fish on there. Mark says, “No Dad, I think its a snag.” Rene had been getting those and he picked up on what she was saying.
Then I notice that the rod is bent over, pointing straight down the side of the boat. But still, not a jerk or anything so yes, maybe it is a snag. But just as a precaution I grab the net and wait while Rene is still reeling this high-dollar equipment.
All of a sudden I see a golden hue in the water. Polarized glasses are great for seeing in the water!! Holy crap it’s a walleye! I stand there in total shock as this 20 1/2 inch walleye just lays there on top of the water waiting to be netted.
I scoop him up and Mark just starts to squeal, “I caught a fish, I caught a fish, Daddy I caught a fish!”
By now I am just shaking my head. I get back to the front of the boat and sit in my chair thinking, “Men spend $100’s of dollars on high-tech equipment, rods, reels, you name it, and a 20-inch walleye meets his maker at the hands of a 4-year-old boy armed with a Sponge Bob rod, a steel leader, Lindy weight, and a pink floater.
Just a little proof that you really don’t need all the bells and whistles to catch fish. But it’s still nice to have them.
The picture was taken seconds after the famous moment! • |
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