The Excellent Way #6
It didn’t take much longer for Noah to reel in the first fish of the day. It was a less than medium sized largemouth bass. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch Noah unhook the fish and release it.
“One point for me!” He said it loudly enough, they all heard him.
Grandpa found himself thinking, “And he’s using Boone’s equipment.”
It didn’t take grandpa much time to realize that being anchored would not be a successful fish catching strategy. Within minutes, he had pulled the anchor and put down the trolling motor. They would drift fish and move northward and westward with the trolling motor. It proved to be a wise strategy. Noah hooked and boated two more bass shortly after the anchor was pulled. Grandpa was still uncertain about how many fish they would catch. Based on his experience three fish could be all they caught. Then another thought stuck him, they’d been fishing for just fifteen minutes. Noah already had three fish.
Noah’s voice broke into his thoughts.
“Fish on!” As grandpa and the other two contestants, of which neither had even hooked a fish, watched, Noah boated, unhooked and released his fourth fish. It was another large mouth. Grandpa did not look at Boone. He didn’t need to; he knew Boone was frustrated that he’d not even hooked a fish. Matters became even more tense when Weston gave an excited call.
“Got one!” Then the other three watched as Weston played the fish, and brought it into the boat. Grandpa took his picture. There were already four photos of Noah holding bass. As Weston released his fish over the side of the boat, grandpa took a moment to glance at Boone. There was a look of determination on his face. As he watched, he heard Noah use his now familiar line:
“Fish on! Everybody, that makes the score 5 to 1 to zero, to zero! It feels good to be in the lead!”
Weston was the most generous in his response. “Great fishing Noah!”
Grandpa was busy with the position of the boat for his fishing crew.
He just said, “You’re a red-hot fisherman Noah.” He did not look at Boone. He knew how Boone was feeling. Boone said it.
“I’m just shut out!” But Boone didn’t quit. He made a long cast to the edge of the bull rushes now east of the boat. Grandpa was busy watching the position of the boat, but he did hear Boone grunt. Then the words. It was the first time Boone had said them today.
“Fish on!”
Everyone else in the boat stopped to watch. This bass was no larger than the others before it. Boone made quick work in landing it, and unhooking. He released it quickly. Then with a flick of his wrist tossed his spinner bait back to the bulrushes. “The skunk is finished!” Boone spoke with a sigh of relief.
No fisherman wants to be unable to catch a fish.
“Skunked” is the word used when you never catch a fish. Boone was officially NOT skunked. All the other guys fishing had gone back to trying to score a point by hooking the next fish. Boone was first to break the silence. There was no grunt, just two words came from his mouth.
“Fish…on.” This time Boone spread the two words out. He left silence between them
“Fish.”
“On.”
It was another bass. And it was the same size as the first one. Boone quickly unhooked it and released it. Almost without pause he flipped out his bait.
“That’s two!” There was a hint of enthusiasm in his voice.
“Fish on!” Grandpa was startled. He had been repositioning the boat to face the dark green bull rushes. This was Noah’s voice. He quickly landed the fish, his sixth, unhooked it and released it over the side. Weston broke the silence.
“Noah, that’s 6!”
There was astonishment in his voice. There was a smile on grandpa’s face. This? It was excellent! Apparently, Boone thought so as well. He added his comment, a surprisingly positive one considering Noah’s competitive nature. He was still 5 points behind. For him to catch 5 fish was a very uncertain thing. It was very possible that no one in the boat would catch another fish.
“Nice catch Noah.” Boone slipped these words out, loud enough for all to hear, while he skillfully flipped his spinner bait to a new spot near the bull rushes. Grandpa watched as Boone began his retrieve. It was smooth and natural. It did not surprise grandpa when he saw Boone’s rod flex toward the water. The usual Boone grunt as he set the hook was heard. Grandpa smiled. He realized then that he had not caught a fish yet. Noah had 6, Boone had 2 and Weston had caught his first fish. Not grandpa. He reasoned that keeping the boat in position plus being distracted by the boys were two good reasons he had yet to catch a fish. Weston must have noticed.
“Grandpa, you should fish too.”
“Then you might catch a fish.” He said thoughtfully. Grandpa gave a little jump. He seemed to become fully alert. Weston watched as grandpa flipped his lure toward the bull rushes waving in the clear water of Rock Lake. Grandpa began a slow retrieve with twitches in between. These twitches were to mimic the rise and fall of a swimming minnow. It worked. As Weston watched grandpa’s rod flexed downward, grandpa grunted.
“You sound like Boone grandpa!” Weston called, as grandpa fought to bring in his first fish. He did. As the tired fish finned near the edge of the boat, grandpa skillfully reached down and grabbed a smaller sized largemouth by the lower lip and lifted it into the boat. He had the hook out of its mouth and the fish back into the water before Boone or Noah could congratulate him on his first fish. Weston said it for all three of the boys.
“Way to go grandpa! No more skunk stink for you.” He said with words that came out wrapped with a smile.
Grandpa smiled back. “Weston, when a fisherman is skunked…it does stink-but not that you could smell it. Yes, the skunk is gone now! And if there was such a thing…