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.