More of this Feature • Part 1:Dads do a lot for kids • Part 2: Wasted trip    Join the Discussion "What are some of your best memories of fishing with your father, or a father figure in your life?" Ronnie
Related Resources • Father's Day Memories • Fathers' Day Shopping • Teach A Man To Fish  • Fishing With Family
Past Articles One Year Ago - 6/10/02 - Don't Know Their Bass From A Hole In The Ground Two Years Ago - 6/11/01 - Fathers' Day Shopping Three Years Ago - 6/12/00 - Father's Day Memories Four Years Ago - 06/14/99 - Bream on the Net Five Years Ago - 06/15/98 - June Catfish Six Years Ago - 06/09/97 - Fishing Shows on TV, from A to H

Dads do a lot for their kids. My father was not a fisherman, but I have some memories of fishing with him that become more special each year. The older I get the more I realize the sacrifices he made so I could fish, even though he did not like fishing.

We went camping at Clark’s Hill often and I will never forget a couple of trips. One of the first, when I was about 10, involved me, my best friends Harold and Hal, and our fathers. All six of us were in a wooden boat and the men were throwing Hula Poppers around shoreline cover while we boys paddled the boat.

Mr. Bill, Harold’s dad, caught most of the fish. He fished a lot and was much better at casting than dad or Hal’s dad, Mr. Bonner. Dad managed to catch a couple of bass but lost several more. The next week he went and bought a new rod and reel and several new Hula Poppers so  that would not happen again.

I don’t think Dad ever used that rod or Hula Poppers. I still have a couple of them that survived my use over the years. Many times I tried to learn to use that old baitcaster and solid glass rod, but never got the hang of it. I am not sure what happened to it.

Another strong memory was a trip to Elijah Clark State Park. I had heard about fishing at night for crappie and white bass under bridges at the lake, and there was a bridge a few hundred yards downstream of the park. I talked daddy into renting a row boat and taking me fishing under the bridge one night.

I was so excited I could hardly stand it, and it felt like it would never get dark. We went to the area where they kept the row boats with our tackle, a bucket of minnows and a lantern as the sun set. I loaded the rods and tackleboxes into the boat while daddy got the paddles.

Part 2 >A wasted trip> Page 1, 2,