By Dan Dry
Do you remember the first fish you caught? I was fishing at a very early age and trying to remember 60 years ago is a little tough, but I’m pretty sure the first one was a blue gill. Makes me wonder if I could fill a cruise ship with my 60 year love affair with fishing.
My Dad passed his love of fishing on to me. This leads me to think about how many children I’ve influenced over the years with this outdoor sport and table fare. I guess that’s what we old people do; reflect. I had the extreme pleasure this summer to share this again and boy, did it enlighten my soul.
After a month of harassing my Pastor, he broke down. He has two beautiful children, a girl and boy at just the right age to get that hook embedded in their memory. Because of their young age, taking them to Jonathan Creek or Pisgah Forest was a little rugged, so I asked my Pastor if a $40 to 60 dollar fishing trip would be worth the fresh caught dinner. His eyebrows rose and, as if I could read his mind, I could see him thinking that a box of worms is three bucks.
Not far from Maggie Valley is a trout pond that I’ve taken two generations of my kids and adopted grandkids to. I know you’re thinking “not very sporty” but that wasn’t my purpose. Before we went, I did warn him the fish may be subdued with a small club, but we are guaranteed a catch.
We met that Saturday morning at Maggie Valley United Methodist Church and took off. Naturally, I was pumping them up on the ride and could see the excitement in their eyes. It was about a 20 minute ride to get there, and 5 minutes after that, they were screaming with happiness – not to mention what this did for my soul. That little trout pond provided not only great memories for all, and a couple of dinners for my Pastor, but filled my heart as well.
Pictured are Maston, myself, and a whopper trout (a million dollar smile came with it). I know; it’s not a usual Dan, “we might die out here story,” but this trip made my summer. Now brother and sister both have fishing rods and practice at least once a week in their yard. It beats being on the couch learning to play video games, I think. Fall is now here in the mountains of Western North Carolina and its beauty is everywhere, especially in the streams and creeks. As I write this, the color is just starting to show and the fishing will be a challenge with all the leaves hitting the water. I hope to see you out there. Take a child with you and get the seed planted.
Dan Dry can be reached on Facebook and dandry53@gmail.com