By Eddie Hudon
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believeth in him shall not parish, but have everlasting life.”
Most of us know John 3:16 as a biblical phrase, however in this story, it has a humorous meaning.
On my way to a guided fishing trip, I stopped into the Outpost Mountain Outfitters, in Whittier, to pick up some split shot. While cashing out, John Honeycutt asked me how it was going. I told him fishing has been real good this fall. In spite of this good report, John showed me a new streamer pattern that he had just brought into the store. He said that he has tried it and it worked very well. “If it gets slow out there, try this out.” So, I bought a dozen and put them in my shirt pocket.
I met my clients and we were off to the West Fork of the Pigeon. The day started out a little slow, so I decided to try one of John’s streamers. As soon as we started using it, we were catching fish! I was so happy, that I looked up into the sky, spread my arms out, and said, “ thank you John.” My client said, “you mean John 3:16.” I said no, “ I mean John at the Outpost!” We laughed so hard. It was a funny moment. My client, who was pretty religious, said, “most people know about John 3:16, but do you know what John 3:17 was about?” I couldn’t help it. I said, “ Is it his batting average?” Needless to say, we shared a precious memory together.
PS; Next time I stopped into the Outpost, I told John the story. He laughed. We all did. Stop in and ask for The John 3:16.
You’ll be glad you did…………
Eddie Hudon is the Owner of Blue Chip Fly Fishing headquartered in Whittier, NC.