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.