Caiden and the Catfish
By: Dave Hoffman AKA Opa AKA Big Poppa Huff
I don’t know why but I could always catch fish. In central Pennsylvania the first day of spring trout fishing was more anticipated than Christmas. When the big day arrived I could stand shoulder to shoulder with ten other fishermen and catch fish after fish while they caught nothing. My grandpap would would watch me and say “please catch one more and quit before they throw you in the stream!“
Time went by. I had two boys of my own. The new tradition was to take them and all of their friends trout fishing on that first day. We all had a blast, but I seemed to catch the biggest and most fish than anyone. My youngest son Zach seemed to be prey to my fishing prowess more than anyone else, as I would tell him to watch me catch a trout from under this stump or under this rock and some how always come through.
Time goes by.
My oldest son Matt came home with his oldest boy Caiden. Zach was also home. I thought it was a great time for the four of us to go fishing. My friend Barry had a private pond loaded with catfish,m and he invited us to come over. We anxiously gathered up our fishing gear and stopped at the local convenience store for some fish worms. I was confident Caiden would catch a big catfish.
We got to the pond and quickly opened the container to find it had no worms! We tried to catch some fish with artificial lures with no avail, the catfish could not be fooled.
The eureka moment struck. I had recently made some homemade hotdogs and had six of them in a cooler for my friend Barry.
I announced to my boys “don’t go anywhere, I have an idea!” My Zach could see what was coming and pleaded “please don’t do this, let’s just go home.”
I put a piece of the homemade hotdog on the hook, Caiden tossed it into the water and within five seconds he was in a battle with a giant catfish! Zach was exasperated, “please tell me this isn’t happening “.
The fish was so big we had to hold onto Caiden before it pulled him into the pond. We landed the fish then turned him loose. We had a great time and Caiden still loves telling people about the giant catfish he caught with a hotdog.
Life lesson: Take a chance!
I don’t know why but I could always catch fish. In central Pennsylvania the first day of spring trout fishing was more anticipated than Christmas. When the big day arrived I could stand shoulder to shoulder with ten other fishermen and catch fish after fish while they caught nothing. My grandpap would would watch me and say “please catch one more and quit before they throw you in the stream!“
Time went by. I had two boys of my own. The new tradition was to take them and all of their friends trout fishing on that first day. We all had a blast, but I seemed to catch the biggest and most fish than anyone. My youngest son Zach seemed to be prey to my fishing prowess more than anyone else, as I would tell him to watch me catch a trout from under this stump or under this rock and some how always come through.
Time goes by.
My oldest son Matt came home with his oldest boy Caiden. Zach was also home. I thought it was a great time for the four of us to go fishing. My friend Barry had a private pond loaded with catfish,m and he invited us to come over. We anxiously gathered up our fishing gear and stopped at the local convenience store for some fish worms. I was confident Caiden would catch a big catfish.
We got to the pond and quickly opened the container to find it had no worms! We tried to catch some fish with artificial lures with no avail, the catfish could not be fooled.
The eureka moment struck. I had recently made some homemade hotdogs and had six of them in a cooler for my friend Barry.
I announced to my boys “don’t go anywhere, I have an idea!” My Zach could see what was coming and pleaded “please don’t do this, let’s just go home.”
I put a piece of the homemade hotdog on the hook, Caiden tossed it into the water and within five seconds he was in a battle with a giant catfish! Zach was exasperated, “please tell me this isn’t happening “.
The fish was so big we had to hold onto Caiden before it pulled him into the pond. We landed the fish then turned him loose. We had a great time and Caiden still loves telling people about the giant catfish he caught with a hotdog.
Life lesson: Take a chance!
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