The Excellent Way # 5

That doomed the nap idea. Permanently.

Grandpa thought, “How can I say no to such a request? Besides, this is my own grandson talking.” Before grandpa had a chance to answer, Boone began speaking again.

“Noah, you should come with us. I know you don’t especially like fishing, but let’s make a contest out of it. You know, let’s see who can catch the most fish!” There was clear enthusiasm in Boone’s voice. It must have connected with Noah. His answer surprised both Boone and Grandpa.

“Usually I’m not interested in fishing, but a contest sounds great. Besides, time on the water is enjoyable, I like lakes. Sure, I’ll go. Boone and Weston, I’ll catch more than you do!” Noah said with confidence.

Grandpa had already put nap ideas on hold. There would be other days for that. He put on his cap and headed for the “boat garage.” That’s what he called the detached garage in the backyard. He kept the boat in there, out of the sun and rain. Grandpa was particular about taking care of things, the boat was no exception. It didn’t take long to hitch it to the pickup and stow all the gear. The four fishermen buckled up and the afternoon fishing trip was underway.

It wasn’t long before the curiosity of those entered in the fishing contest brought up the question most minds were thinking-what lake will we be fishing? Boone couldn’t wait to see. The words of his question filled the temporary silence in the pickup. Grandpa had a quick answer.

“High Rock.”

Boone had never heard of it. His next question showed his true fisherman’s heart. One question led to another.

“Grandpa, does High Rock have bass in it? How big is High Rock? Oh, and how deep is it? Do a lot of people fish on High Rock Grandpa?” Boone gushed out his questions almost in one breath. For a young man of few words, he had just spoken many. Boone paused to breathe.

Then grandpa answered in quick fashion: “Yes, medium sized, 70 feet deep and usually it’s not crowded. And Boone, High Rock also has sunfish, and a good northern pike population. We should catch fish.”

Grandpa kept his next thoughts to himself. “It would be nice if we caught fish…there’s no guarantee.”

The drive went quickly.

Each of the boys had ideas about what to fish, and where. There was quite a lot of banter. They teased one another gently about how many fish each of them would catch and how few fish the others would be able to hook. Then they began to discuss the “rules” of the contest. It turned out to be simple, grandpa was surprised. Each fish boated would be worth one point. The fisherman with the most points at the end would be the winner. To score a point, the fish had to be touched. It did not count if a fish was hooked and not brought to the boat. Taking the fish off of the hook was a “touch.” They decided later to release all fish. Another rule change happened after the contest started. Grandpa thought of it.

The boys helped grandpa back the boat into the lake alongside the public dock. Noah held the bow line as grandpa pushed the boat into the clear water of High Rock Lake. Out of the corner of his eye grandpa noticed Weston standing at the end of the dock staring into the water. He knew. The clear clean water held beauty and mystery. Weston saw it.

“He’s already hooked on the beauty here.” He thought with satisfaction.

“This could be an “excellent” trip.”

Within minutes the pickup and boat trailer were parked out of the way for others who might wish to launch their boat in High Rock. Soon, the boat with the fishing contest competitors was headed north up the lake. Grandpa and Boone watched the fish locator graph the depth of the lake. Boone was impressed to see 40 then 60 feet of water between the boat and the bottom. High Rock was a deep lake!

“There’s got to be fish down there grandpa,” Boone said with enthusiasm.

Quickly, they came to the east point at the north end of High Rock. Grandpa curved the boat around the point and cut power to the motor. He turned the bow towards the shore. At that moment a conversation between Boone and his older brother Noah caught grandpa’s attention.

“How am I supposed to compete in this fishing contest? I don’t have a fishing rod.” It was Noah speaking.

Then grandpa heard Boone’s answer.

“Noah, look in the rod locker in the boat. Take the blue rod and reel. It’s all set with a lure like I would use. You can fish with that Noah.” Boone said with generosity coming from his voice.

“Thanks! Great!” Noah said as grandpa watched him pull the blue rod and reel from the rod storage locker of the boat. Grandpa noticed it was all set up with a lure that looked just like a minnow. Grandpa couldn’t keep his delight for what he had just witnessed to himself.

“Excellent!” It came out louder than he expected, but grandpa didn’t apologize for it. He watched with a smile on his face as Noah made his first cast with a borrowed rod and reel. Things got busy for a few minutes. Grandpa decided to anchor the boat in the 15 feet of water near shore. He heard Boone telling his fellow fishing contest competitors to make casts to shore. It wasn’t long before everyone in the boat heard Noah call out, “Fish on!”