By Ronnie Parris
At first he was scared. You could see the tears well up in his eyes as he squeezed my hand and tried to hold on. The creek was up from a recent rain an though I held his hand, his lite body swept behind me in the current like clothes hanging from a clothesline in a stiff breeze. Fighting to hold back the tears, he was trying to be brave and show me how big he was. The first few trout we caught were small, probably 5 or 6 inches long. We took turns bringing them in, and after 4 or 5, he was doing good, especially considering he was only 5 years old.
On up the winding creek we fished, and slowly, his fears seamed to leave him and he became more comfortable with his surroundings. He even seemed to enjoy the tow ride the current gave him as we crossed the stream in swift spots. He seemed to notice all the small things that I didn’t pay any attention to. He made me see things that day through his eyes, which made the small things a little more enjoyable.
Finally, we came to a bend in the creek. On the opposite bank, a stump was sticking out of the water. I told Daniel to stand on a rock and if I hooked one, I would hand him the pole. It was the perfect place for a fish and I was sure I would get a hit from a hungry rainbow as I flipped the thunderhead above the stump and watched as it started its float. Unlike the explosions of water we were getting as the little rainbows would take our fly, this time it just disappeared. When I set the hook, a beautiful brown trout darted around the pool and, though I figured a fish of this size would get off, I handed Daniel the pole. The fish fought to stay in the current and made several runs trying to get under the submerged stump. Daniel kept steady pressure on the fish and, after what seemed like 5 minutes but was probably seconds, I was able to get a hand on it and we walked up on the bank to admire his catch. Right off the bat, he noticed all the bright orange and red spots instead of the solid red strip of the rainbows we had been catching.
As we walked back down the road to the car he gave me the scientific reasons why things in the creek were why they were: such as the rocks in the creek were so slick was because they were covered with fish snot. He was also quick to let me know he caught the biggest fish. As we walked and people passed by and waved at this little wet boy, I wondered if, years ago, when I walked back with my dad, he was as proud of me as I was of my son. Daniel walked as if he was 10 feet tall and I couldn’t help but be so proud of him. As I watched him fight that brown trout, it was like I was watching myself and I realized he was a part of me; a part that will live on after I’m gone. Like a mirror of my life, Daniel’s a grown man now but every time I think of this trip, I can’t help but smile. If you want a great fishing trip, take a kid fishing. You may catch a memory that will last a lifetime
Ronnie Parris is the Owner and Head Guide of Smoky Mountain Outdoors Unlimited-Fontana Lake Fishing Guides, headquartered in Bryson City, North Carolina, heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. www.smokymountainoutdoorsunlimited.com