Replay

With Cactus safely back in the water the guys returned to a little extra fishing. Cactus was the fist tournament trophy winner that had been released instead of mounted. About noon or so the guys finished packing and went to the grub shack for a little lunch before heading home. Paul was happy to have spent the weekend with Jon and Adventurer Mike. He had a little surprise for Jon and Mike. Paul talked to one of the judges and had the big screen at the front of the stage turned on. The moment the sound hit everyones ears they turned to look. There on the big screen was the play by play as Jon and Mike worked together to catch Ole Cactus and then release him back into the ice cold water. Cheers went up once again and congratulations were handed out to both Jon and Mike. On the ride home Paul told Jon that one of the Taxidermists at the tournament will be making a composite of the fish as part of the trophy. The guys chatted all the way home about fish that were almost caught and those that got away and the ones they put back.

Monday came and everyone went back to work or school. Jon was excited when he got to school and told them all about his big fish. The other boys taunted him and told him to prove it. He went to his teacher and had the teacher play the short video for everyone to see. The boys were really impressed with Jon's fish and the fact that he got to spend a weekend with Adventurer Mike. Mike was happy to see that someone like Sir Jon had caught Ole Cactus and then put him back into the river to roam free again. At least until someone else has the luck of catching him. Who knows, it may be you.

Until next time, keep your line in the water and good luck.

The End......

Cactus gets Caught Again

Mike looked up and saw Jon battling a fish that was putting up a pretty good fight. "Hey Jon, if you need a hand with that fish I'm right here just ask." said Mike. Mike reeled in his line and sat back watching while Jon fought with his fish. "Remember that story I told you about he one that got away Jon," asked Mike. "Yes" was all that Jon said as he keep his focus on the fish. "This here is the same place I was at in the story. Hey, you might even have the same fish on your line." Mike just kept talking to Jon as he fought the fish. Jon was really getting pumped up the closer the fish got the harder he fought. "Mike, Mike take the rod my arms need a break this is a monster fish I can't land him by myself." Mike came to Jon's side but instead of taking the rod he encouraged Jon to keep the tip high and instructed him on when to pull and reel the line in. The monster fish boiled the water about twenty feet from shore and took off towards deep water. "Hold the tip high as you can Jon," shouted Mike. Jon responded by lifting the tip his rod as high over his head as he could get. The fish slowed down and Jon proceeded to reel him back in. This time when the fish was close he boiled the water again but Mike got a good look at him. "Jon, you got him. It looks like you caught Ole' Cactus. The fish that got away from me in the story is on your line right now." Mike teased Jon over and over about having Cactus on the line. Jon's excitement went off the charts and was still climbing as continued landing the big fish. When Ole' Cactus's head popped out of the water he yelled to Mike. "There he is, there he is. Mike forgot all about using a net and jumped into the shallow water and grabbed the fish by the gills and hauled his massive body thrashing wildly onto the shore. "Jon, do you know what you have just done?" asked Mike. "Yes, said Jon I caught my first big catfish." "Jon you really did catch Ole' Cactus the monster catfish. The one that got away from me. See here." Mike continued as he pointed to the split whiskers on the left side of the fishes jaw. Mike and Jon grabbed the big fish one on each side as they walked to the judges stand. The same judge that had weighed Mikes big fish had the honors of doing the same to Cactus. The judge came out with the results after having his numbers confirmed by a second judge. We have a clear tournament winner. Sir Jon with the largest fish in tournament history, 37 pounds 12 ounces and an overall length of 52 inches. Everyone cheered for Jon as he had his picture taken alongside Mike, Paul and the Monster catfish. After the picture Jon leaned over to Mike and whispered something. Mike made the announcement. Anyone wanting to see the release of this big fish come with us. Jon and Mike headed back to the spot where Cactus had been caught and slipped him back into the water and watched as he swam slowly away.

Fun Day

The sun was now high over the tree tops when Paul and Jon decided to join Mike. "Well, sleepy heads, it's about time you joined the living for a little fishing." Said Mike. Remind me later and I will show you two some fantastic footage i shot late yesterday and early this morning. The three of them fished up and down the river having a wonderful time. There was lots of laughter and good natured bantering going on the entire day. Jon and Paul each caught respectable fish and were teasing Mike about his lack of action. They fished on the way back to the camp. Moving slowly working over all the water that was available to them. This was to be their last night together. None of them were in a hurry to turn in for the night. At the campsite they sat around talking to one another telling stories and having a leisurely meal. Everything that could be packed into the truck was packed into place as they made ready for their departure late tomorrow. Paul was the only one to give in and fell asleep. Mike and Jon sat there waiting on the sun. When it finally peeked its bright rays through the tall oak trees the picked up their rods and tackle and headed to the place where Mike had caught his big fish the morning before. Jon was the first to get his line baited and into the water. Mike was a few minutes behind him. He spent time watching Jon fish as he thought to himself. "This is what its all about. Teaching kids to fish and respect the wildlife around them so they can enjoy it and pass that enjoyment to their kids. If only more families took the time to honestly enjoy the wonders of the outdoors things would be a lot different. Private little fishing trips like these would live in their memory's forever. It is a way parents can bond with their children and enjoy nature at the same time. The key is, don't rush anything. Take time and relax." Mike was deep in thought when he heard Jon yell, " Fish On."

Mike takes the Lead

He put his bait on with the same routine he had been using all morning and cast it out. Mike reached to set the rod in the holder but it was not to be. The line took off like a bullet shot from a high powered rifle. His line was rolling off his reel like he hadn't seen in quite some time. He quickly pulled the excess line out and snapped the bail shut, lowered the rod tip towards the fish. Standing ready to set the hook when the line went tight. Imagine his surprise when the fish stopped dead in the water. Mike quickly reeled up some line until it went tight and jerked as hard as he could. A moment later he felt the hard pulling on the line and felt the fish swirling and thrashing around trying to dislodge the hook from its mouth. Mike's mind was whirling now. He had been fishing less than an hour and there were already enough fish caught to feed several groups for breakfast. Now here he was wrestling with something bigger than anything he had caught so far today. Between the fish he kept and put back and now this one he had already caught more fish than the three of them caught all day yesterday. Twenty-Five minutes later Mike was on his way to the weigh station with not only fish for the house breakfast but one to add to his total. Mike had to get wet to get this fish in. The fish's last attempt to swim upstream on Mike was stopped by a couple large rocks where the fish had gotten stuck. Mike went into the cold water and retrieved his fish. The judge smiled when he saw Mike and quickly took the fish he had been holding up as he walked towards them. Two of the judges went into the back with Mike's fish then came out smiling. Mike knew he had taken the overall lead without anyone telling him so. It was confirmed when the judges came out. The head judge went to the leader board and wrote Mikes name in first place then posted his fish's weight and length. Twenty-Eight pounds and Forty-Five inches, Then cautioned Mike that he could only enter two more fish into the contest. Mike just claimed his big fish and went back to camp. News of his fish spread through the contest like gossip at a quilting bee. Who would top Mike's big fish and by how much? Could it be topped?

Relaxing night Early Catch

When Mike arrived back at camp he found Paul and Sir Jon had already stowed their gear for the day and were sitting talking about the days events. Mike took up all the fish and headed for the cleaning house. He was going to clean them all. He was about half way to there when he here Paul call his name. "Hey, Mike would you like a little help cleaning all those fish? After all Jon and I did help you catch them. It's only right that we help clean them, called Paul" Mike motioned to him to come along and help out. After Paul and Jon came into the cleaning house Mike took the first fish and showed them both the easiest way to clean them. It took the three of them about an hour to clean all the fish they had caught, including Sir Jon's Northern Pike. The fish were washed and packed into gallon size storage bags marked and quickly frozen. They sat around the fire for a little while as it burned itself down to a bright red pile of coals. Then they all turned in for a few hours sleep before they would start again on their fishing adventure. Mike was up before the sun could peek its bright rays over the treetops. He grabbed some bait and headed to a spot he had been watching the past day or so. He quickly baited up his hook and cast it out, then sat back to see if a little early morning feeding would take place. He didn't even get a chance to set the metal coffee pot on the new bed of hot coals to brew. He grabbed the pot and headed towards the fire and his line was headed out fast, very fast. He grabbed the linen and pulled a bunch out and snapped the bail shut. He watched as the line got tighter and tighter. When it had finally reached the point of pulling off the spool again, Mike jerked backwards and over his right shoulder as hard as he could. His rod was high in the air and the fist battle of the day was on. Mike handled this one quickly as it was a little one that was very hungry. He landed several more of these eating size fish. To Mike and eating size fish is between three and eight bounds. He moved his cast about twenty yards upstream and let it drift into the school a few times. These fish were a little bigger that the eating size that he had caught just a little earlier. He made one more move before it would be breakfast time. This time he moved upstream about a hundred and fifty yards.

Large Flathead

Mike held the rod tip high to put extra pressure on the fish to slow him down. He smiled to himself knowing this one would be a definite keeper. He could tell by the power the fish was displaying in his constant battle to get free. Mike had to run up the shoreline to avoid running out of line. Mike and the fish battled for nearly forty minutes before Mike finally got the better of the fish. With the fish laying there on the surface waiting to be picked up. Mike reached into the water and grasped the fish by the gill and hoisted him up to show everyone the biggest fish of the day. He turned to one of the guys that had been taunting him about Jon out fishing him and stated in a matter of fact tone. "A Flathead by any other name is still a Flathead and this is the largest of the day." He quickly went to the judges station to have it weighed and measured. As onlookers watched the process you could hear a buzz from the crowd as they guessed the size of the fish. Then came the announcement. Adventurer Mike has moved into overall second place with the addition of a 18 lb 41 inch Flathead catfish. There is a one pound difference between the leader and Mike. Mike retrieved his fish and headed back to the base camp.

Pike

It was getting late and the setting sun was nearly at the treetops already. In an hour or so it would be down behind the horizon and nighttime would set in quickly. Mike knew once that sun was down and dusk hit it would be time for him to get his line back into the water as the fish would start biting again. When the meal was finally prepared he call to Paul and Sir Jon to come eat. Paul pulled his line slowly from the water without incident. When Jon started moving his line to pull it out something hit his line like a rock. One minute he was pulling in just a hook and sinker the next he could barely move it. He felt something fighting back on the other end but, had no idea what it was. He held the rod tip high and cranked hard on the reel only to move the fish a few feet. He cranked and cranked until he had the fish only a few feet from the shore. He called loudly to Mike to come help. Mike quickly ran to where Jon was standing and grabbed the net. He was ready to land the fish as soon as he saw it. Mike looked at Jon and seen the excitement in his face as he leaned back into the rod to hold the fish as high in the water as possible. Then Mike heard a loud splash that called his attention back to the water. His eyes got big when he saw the water churning and boiling like a sea monster was coming out. "Hold on to him Jon, hold on," said Mike loudly. Mike dropped the net and reached into the water and grabbed the fish and jerked him out of the water quickly. There in Mike's grasp was a Northern Pike about ten pounds plus. "This one's a keeper and will make a good breakfast in the morning Jon," said Mike. Paul was very impressed with Jon's fish. "Well Jon, my boy, you have out fished the both of us so far." said Paul. "Keep up the good work. Let's eat." They sat there eating and talking about, what else, fishing. Once they had finished eating and cleaning up they headed back to the river to fish. They had maybe an hour before the blackness of night would overtake them. Once all the lines were in the water Mike grabbed the video camera and started shooting again. He was zooming in on Jon when the little warning bell on his rod tip started sounding off. He set the camera in his chair and reached for the rod. Just as he started lifting it upwards his line took off like wildfire. He created a huge loop in the line and snapped the bail shut. Just as the line went tight he jerked violently upwards causing a loud swish as the rod rose quickly above his head. The reel drag began screaming loudly as the line was being ripped from its spool. The force with which Mike jerked the line set the hook deep into the fish's jaw.

Jon Lands a Fish

He was laughing like crazy as he watched. The expression on both their faces showed just how much fun they were having. Jon would lean way back as he attempted to pull that fish into shore. The fish was just not coming as easily as Jon had hoped. With the rod bent like a rainbow and Jon using every bit of strength he could muster he fought valiantly until the fish swirled right in front of him splashing water all over him. He could not believe that a catfish would do something like that to him. He pulled a little harder and the fish finally came to shore. Dad reached down and picked up the fish and held it high for all the other fishermen to see. And it was to show off a little what his young son could do. They quickly measured and weighed the fish. It was keeping length by 6 full inches and weighed in excess of 9 lbs. A long lean fish, but it was a keeper by law. If Jon decided to do so he could let him go. He thought for a moment, then said let's let him go, I want to try to catch another one that's a little bigger. The decision had been made and everyone watched as Sir Jon lowered the fish into the water and it swam away quickly. Jon watched laughing as the fish went deeper and deeper until it was out of sight. A quick high five to his dad and Mike and it was off to set up for yet another try at a big catfish. The guys watched as Jon cast his line out. "He is getting good at casting," said Mike. We need lots of people who are good at casting like that. There would be more time fishing and less time straightening out line messes. Just as Mike and Paul were getting into a good conversation they both got strong hits. A couple of moments later they were both embroiled in their own fish battles. Paul called to Jon to come help him land his fish. Jon was right there ready to help in any way he could. When Paul got the fish close to shore Jon reached down and picked the fish out of the water just wiggling and twisting wildly. He nearly dropped it. Once it was safely on shore Paul called over to Mike to see if he needed any help with his fish. Mike replied, "not yet, he's still got lots of energy." Mike continued to battle the fish with all his strength. That fish was showing no signs of giving up easy. Mike finally managed to pull his fish to within twenty yards of the shore. Everyone's eyes got big when the fish created a huge boil on the surface and dove for the deep water. "Just a little one," said Mike. What a surprise when he finally landed his fish and found it was only good enough for third place overall. Jon had managed to move into first place with his long slender fish and Paul was solidly in second place. However, there was lots of fishing yet to come in this little contest of theirs. All three of them had their lines in the water and sat there for nearly an hour working over that little section of river. Mike finally pulled his line in and went back to the camp and started a fire so he could make dinner for them while they continued to fish.

Fishing Excitement

Jon climbed into bed Thursday night only to be awakened at 5:30 am by his dad. Jon, Jon, get up its time. Jon opened his eye a little and looked at his dad. Time for what dad I'm tired. well OK Jon, but it's going to be lonely on the bank of the river without you. What! Came a quick loud reply. The river, is it the day of the fishing trip, dad? Is it? Jon asked as he leaped from the bed fully dressed. it was a sure surprise to his dad to see him fully dressed. They packed their gear into Adventurer Mike's truck and away they went. Jon settled down in the back seat and fell back asleep after only a short time. When they finally arrived at their destination Mike woke him up to help with the unpacking and setting up camp. Once the base had been fully set and supplied they sat down for a few rules about the fishing. They were only allowed to keep one fish per day, as long as that fish was over 30" long. They would each put in a dollar for the big fish contest between the three of them. The one who caught the biggest fish would get the three dollars. Jon was excited about that idea. Finally it was time to go to the river and get started. They went by the check in point and registered all three of their names then proceeded to find a space on the bank for the three of them. To start with the three of them would stay together. Eventually Mike would move up or down river as he saw fit until he hit upon something worth keeping. Mike and Paul gave Jon the point location hoping he would land the first fish of the day and claim the dollar pot they had set up. Once they all had their lines in the water it was time to wait. They would see just what kind of patience Jon would have now. If he had none they would have to work with him to develop them. Jon had managed to stick with watching the line for several minutes before he wanted to bring in his line. A few times Mike or Paul would tell him to wait a little and let it happen. One time Jon picked up his line he felt it move on the other end. He grinned from ear to ear, as he spoke to both of them. I'm going to catch a fish, he taunted over and over for a few minutes until his dad spoke up. Sure you are Jon, then why don't you catch him, now! he screamed out. Dad had been watching the end of Jon's rod carefully when he noticed it beginning to bounce rapidly, he yelled to Jon just as the line took off. Jon reacted by grasping the rod firmly and pulling back and upwards swiftly just as he had been taught. Thud, the hook hit the fish's mouth so hard it jammed clean through the jaw. Jon was pulling back hard as he watched his line go out steadily. When the line finally stopped going out he started to reel in the fish. Dad came over to provide backup just in case Jon got a little tired and to help land the fish once he had gotten it all the way to shore. Jon had the first fish that was for sure, the only question now was how big it was and could get it all the way to shore by himself. While Jon and dad worked steadily to bring the fish to shore, Mike had picked up the video recorder and was taping the whole thing for them.

Prepping for the Big Trip

Paul reached out and shook Mike's hand as he agreed to the trip. They sat down at the big porch table and Paul made a few calls with his cell phone, and the date was quickly set up. A week from Friday next the three of them would venture into catfish territory for an adventure into none of them would forget. When Jon and his dad left for home you could hear Jon chattering about his upcoming trip with his dad two blocks away. He was so excited. He was going to go fishing with Adventurer Mike and his dad at the same time. Wow! What a trip that was going to be for him. He could not wait to get to the day of the trip. His dad was even excited to be going along on a trip like this. Paul had wanted to get time out with Jon in the worst way, but it seemed that every time he would get a day off something would come up and he would be called back to work. Well this time it would be different. He was putting in for the time off way in advance so someone else would have to fill in for him. He was going to be out of town and completely unavailable. The next day at work Paul made sure that his shift would be covered so that no interruptions to their plans would take place. Mike had his tackle all clean and prepped for the big trip, that was approaching very quickly. He wanted to be prepared in every way, so he made a few calls of his own to find the best place to fish this spring. A few quick calls to the local guide shops and he had his location picked out. It would take them about two hours to travel there and supplies would be needed for the two nights they would be there. He put together his list then called Paul. They discussed the cost of the supplies and quickly settled on each paying half. Jon pulled down his rod from the rack and pulled all the line from the spool. With little help from his dad he quickly learned how to install the new line. He turned the crank until the spool on his reel was nearly full. He carefully finished setting up his rod with a long strong steel leader and a few slip sinkers. His rod was now ready for the trip. he pulled his tackle bow from under the cabinet and grabbed a couple of rags. He set to cleaning up all his tackle just as he had seen Mike do a few days ago.He was going to be ready for every thing when this trip came. His dad could not pass up the moment and took some pictures of Jon cleaning his tackle. These pictures should go well in the fishing scrapbook under the title"Jon's Fishing Adventures." It would serve as a reminder to him of the time he and his dad shared a fishing adventure with the fishing legend, Adventurer Mike. Paul sat there with Jon as they went over each and every piece in both Jon's and his tackle box. He even put a few pieces of his own tackle into Jon's. The day of the big trip was getting closer by the hour.

Sir Jon's Fishing Trip

While Mike was telling his story he continued sorting and cleaning his tackle. Once he had completed his story he was sure there would would be a flood of questions from Sir Jon. Mike figured he would be questioned extensively on the catfish that got away. Instead the first question from Sir Jon stunned him. Sir Jon asked in his little voice, "Mike, would you take me fishing with you some day?" Mike sat there in disbelief not knowing what to say. Here was an eleven year old boy asking him to take him fishing. Mike had long been involved with some sort of activitiy involving children. As ironic as it may seem. One of the first things he did with kids was fishing. When he was growing up he used to take several of the local boys fishing who had no father or brother to take them. Sometimes he would even take them on overnight camping trips. He looked at Sir Jon andd said, " I would be honored to have you join me on on of my daily fishing trips." Sir Jon sat there trying to hold back tears. Just as Mike and Sir Jon were finishing up they noticed someone coming up the front walk. It was Paul, Sir Jon's dad. Sir Jon was bouncing all over the place at the prospect of going fishing with Mike. Mike shook Paul's hand and chatted with him for a couple moment. They could see Sir Jon was bursting at the seams with his news. Mike told Paul that Sir Jon had something he really wanted to talk to him about. Sir Jon asked if it would be ok for him to go fishing with Mike. Mike said, "Paul if your not busy why don't you come along with us and the three of us will make a day of it. " Paul quickly agreed which made Sir Jon very happy. Now he would be fishing with both his dad and Adventurer Mike at the same time.

Cactus gets away

he came to a stop near a small rock ledge that ran cross ways the river. It had impeded his forward progress. Had he not stopped i surely would have run out of line. I moved swiftly up the river bank to shorten the distance between me and that fish as much as possible. I stopped reeling for a moment to make sure he was still there and hadn't spit the hook into the rock bed on me. Oh yes, he was still there. I could feel him thrashing from side to side with his head as i started to reel the line slow and steady. That's when I found out the true power of the fish. I would battle with him until he was a mere ten feet from shore. When I went to land him he would take off without much effort he would run up stream forty or fifty yards then stop. Each he would run it seemed as if he was running further than the last." As Mike continued telling his story, Sir Jon wide eyed with amazement enjoying himself. With each word his excitement was building. Mike had his full attention as he continued his story. "I fought with big ol' mean catfish for nearly an hour before it looked like I had finally won the battle. The fish was coming to shore with very little difficulty this time. I kept a slow steady reel on him as I drew him closer and closer to shore. I could feel the excitement in my chest as my heart pounded wildly. The thought of getting that big fish to shore was very exciting. I got him to shore he made one last attempt to get away. I held on tight as he thrashed around in circles trying to dislodge the hook from his mouth. Exhausted he lay there with his head out of the water. I looked at him closely as I reached for him. He appeared to be smiling at me. I found that to be a little interesting since he was about to be dinner for me. I noticed something a little different about this catfish for the others I had caught. He had extra whiskers on the left side of his lower jaw. As my hand touch the back of his head he spun around one more time and arched his body wildly. I put both hands back on controlling the rod but it was to late. He had dislodged the hook from his jaw and slipped back into the water. All I could do was stand there and watch as he swam away leaving me stand there in amazement holding an empty hook. I estimate he weighted about twenty-five or thirty pounds." Sir Jon sat there in silence for minutes taking in what Adventurer Mike had just told. Thinking, "here is a master catfish fisherman admitting the he had lost a big ol' catfish just like anyone else could have done.

Questions

"Well, Sir Jon" said Mike in his deep voice. "To answer your question. Every year about this time I take out all my fishing tackle ans go through every piece. From my extra long fishing rod, to the bottom of my portable tackle store. I clean up each and every piece as i check it for any problems. Things like, bent or broken hooks or maybe a swivel has come loose or even out. These items I set aside until I am done with all the tackle. Then I go back and fix or replace them. If things are ok I place it in the tackle store where it belongs. Daredevils with spoons and each size and style of hook in its own space. When I have done all I can a trip to the Fishermen's Warehouse is next. There I buy whatever I need to replace because I am low on supply or I need it to fix something else. In this manner I always have a full Tackle store when the first day of the fishing season comes around." As quickly as Mike could answer a question Sir Jon would already be forming a new one to ask. Sir Jon picked up a black and silver curved spoon and looked at it carefully as he asked Mike, "what is this one used for?" Mike gave him a list of different fish and weather conditions that it would work for. Then took a deep breath hoping that Sir Jon had run out of questions. But, alass he had not. Question after question kept flying for Sir Jon's mouth and Mike would answer him quickly. The smile on Sir Jon's face revealed not only how he felt at this particular moment but reflected his personality. Always a happy little camper with a thousand questions. Mike was about to put an even bigger smile on Sir Jon's little face. Sir Jon had paused a moment giving Mike the impression he was out of questions. When in fact he was saving the best for last. "Mike," said Sir Jon. Mike sat there wondering what piece of tackle he would have to explain next. It was good practice for him. Mike held his breath slightly waiting on the rest of Sir Jon's question. Sir Jon shifted gears on him and went from fishing tackle to the fish. "Have you ever lost a big ol' catfish. I mean you had him hooked and he just plum got away from you?" Sir Jon paused for a moment thinking he wasn't going to get Adventurer Mike to admit he had lost a fish let alone a big one. Mike was a little stunned at first as he struggled to answer the humbling question. Sir Jon stood there in silence awaiting Adventure Mike's answer. You see Sir Jon thought Mike would never admit to ever loosing a big fish. Especially a Flathead Catfish. However, Mike stood there a moment stroking his mighty beard carefully. Then with a twisted little smile on his face he slowly began to speak. "Yes Sir Jon i have lost a big catfish before. It was one of the biggest, strongest and smartest catfish I had ever laid eyes on. Which I did, briefly as I watched him swim away." Sir Jon smiled a wide toothy smile knowing he had done what he had intended to do when he went to Mikes. He had gotten Mike to tell him a fish tail without to much prodding. He listened carefully as Mike continued his story. "Well Sir Jon, I was fishing on the Mississippi River in the Southern part of Minnesota. I had been in this one spot for nearly an hour catching little fish. You know the ones I am talking about. Those pesky little three to five pound fish that are about the right size to eat. Right in the middle of all my good luck everything quit biting. I tried and tried but nothing was biting. You know what it means Sir Jon when that happens. "Yes, i know" was his reply. "Either a huge preditor fish has moved in for a snack or the entire school was let out of class early and they all left at the same time." Mike laughed as he spoke. "I never heard it put that way but Sir Jon you hit the nail right on the head. I move several feet in both directions to try locating then. First I went down stream thirty yards and worked my way back to where I started then I did the same thing upstream and worked back to my original location. I leaned back opened the bail and let fly with all my might. With those heavy sinkers on my hook took off as if it were headed for outer space. They splashed down a few moments later about a eighty yards or so off shore. The strong current began rolling the sinkers along the bottom so I let out more and more line until it finally came to rest way downstream off a sandbar island that stuck up out of the water. My bobber lay flat across the top of the water the way I lie it to. I had decided this was to be my last cast in this location. So, with the fish not biting or doing so really slow. I figured with the way they were biting I was in for a very long wait. I propped up the rod and opened the bail and settled into a chair next to my fishing rod. I grabbed the material to make a new leader but, just as i was about to start the bobber went under. Before I could get the rod picked up and set the hook, the bobber popped up again only a few feet from where it went under. I waited hoping he would come back and try again, but nothing happened. I slowly reeled up the slack line until it was tight and moved the bobber about four feet. the bobber stood tall in the water. I sat back once again to wait for fish. Nothing, no fish biting and when i pulled the line in. Sure enough the hook had been nibbled clean leaving me with a bare hook. Knowing now that the fish had moved back in I loaded the hook with Nite-Crawlers then tipped each hook with a small square of Cheese and tossed it out as far as i sold. and watched it drop about twenty yards from where it had been just a couple of moments ago. I settled back into my chair and was about to start making leaders. I hadn't even gotten the first one done when my bobber started disappearing quickly then popping right back up. I carefully picked up the rod and closed the bail then reeled in as much slack as i could before the line went tight. I felt him move the hook. I lifted the tip of my 9' Catbuster straight towards the sky. All you hear was,this loud swish followed by the line singing in the wind as they fish was on the run and the battle had begun. The tight line in the win combined with the constant rapid clicking of the spool drag was music to my ears. I watched in awe as the line was being ripped from the spool faster than I had ever seen in my entire life. That Catbuster rod was getting a major test. It had a bow in it that looked like i had my hands wrapped around one end of the rainbow. When that fish took off upstream he displayed so much power and speed he covered nearly a hundred twenty yards before......

Cactus, The One That Got Away?

On this particular day we find Adventurer Mike sitting at his porch table sorting through his fishing tackle. He is enjoying the unusually warm April temperature while preparing for the upcoming fishing season. He carefully take stock of everything in his tackle box and makes note of what needs repair or replacing. Whatever needs repair he sets aside to fix later on when he returns from his run for replacements at the local Sporting Good Store. Mike was busy checking over his supply of sinkers when he heard this little voice calling out to him, "hey Mike, hey Mike." He looked up to find Sir Jon, one of the local neighborhood boys coming down the sidewalk towards his house. Mike really enjoyed talking to Sir Jon. Everyone calls Jonathan, Sir Jon. Sir Jon, is eleven years old now and is really into fishing. He has gone on several fishing trips with his older brothers and his father a time or two. Sir Jon, calmly walks up to the table where Mike is sitting, "hey Mike, what are you doing?" He inquired in his little voice. Stop! {Before we go any furthers let me give you this little info on Sir Jon. He may be eleven years old and a little slow but, he has the energy of about six kids his age and inquisitive mind to match.} Now that you know that, here's what happened between Adventurer Mike and Sir Jon that sunny April morning.