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

Daddy rowed to the bridge, tied up and hung the lantern over the side. I got my rod ready and looked for the minnow bucket. It was not in the boat. Daddy did not say anything, he just got the lantern in, untied the boat, rowed back to the park and got the minnows, still sitting where I had left them.

Although he had rowed us a couple of hundred yards each way for nothing, daddy never fussed at me for forgetting the minnows. After rowing back to the bridge we fished for several hours without a bite. I was just about asleep by the time daddy rowed us back to the park and took me to the camper for bed.

The only kind of fishing daddy seemed to enjoy was catching crappie around the bushes in the spring at Clark’s Hill. He would spend hours in a boat with my mom and me catching crappie. I realize now he was thinking about all the good eating and did not mind "wasting" time fishing since he was filling up the freezer with fish.

Daddy bought a 17 foot Larson outdrive ski boat for us in 1966. I loved to ski as a teenager but wanted to fish, too. I rigged up a wooden seat that fit over the front running light and had a drop down part for the trolling motor. I fished many days from that boat until I was able to buy my first bass boat in 1974.

When daddy saw my bass boat and how easy it was to fish from, he decided to fix up the ski boat for him and mamma. He built a nice platform with a swivel seat on it, and put a foot controlled electric motor on it. That worked great for easing around the edges and fishing for crappie. He was very good at putting things together like that and made a much better fishing boat than I was able to make.

I have a lot of fantastic memories growing up, and often wish I could go back and enjoy some of those times again. Fathers and children, don’t let any more time pass without making some memories of your own. Go fishing together and enjoy the time you have. It will be gone all too soon.

Part 1 >Dads do a lot for kids> Page 1, 2