An Unforgettable Day with Tommy Donahue
By Dan Kenney, Go Fish Dan
Fishing for Fun!
I really enjoy seeing my friend Tommy working his job at the Wal-Mart Supercenter. Fortunately, we have built a friendship that I will cherish the rest of my life. Tommy is a fun guy from a great family. Sure he’s had his struggles and I cannot pretend to understand everything that goes on in his world.
One thing I can understand is he smiles continuously, has an infectious laugh and makes others feel good with his complimentary personality. Tommy sets an example of how to live life to the fullest, overcome disabilities and treat everyone with honor and respect. Tommy had inquired about a day of fishing. He said he has fished Saltwater at the cape on chartered trips but had not been freshwater fishing in a boat. I said to him, how can you grow up with 30 lakes, ponds, rivers all within an hour of your front door and not freshwater fish? He smiled and said, That’s a good question? I guess I need more fishing friends.
We set a date and I rolled up in front of his house to pick him up for a day on the water. I launched the boat at Brimfield Reservoir, showed him the 2 rods I had set up. One had a texas rig stick worm, the other a creature bait with a 1/8 oz jighead. I dropped the trolling motor in our first spot, went over how to cast the stick worm out and Tommy was in action. 5 minutes later his line is moving and he says, I think I feel something. I assisted on the hook set and he reeled in a solid 1.5 pound LM Bass.
When he told me that was his first Bass I could not contain my excitement and joy for putting another angler on fish and hopefully turning him into a lifelong angler. We fished all over that reservoir and as the day went on Tommy was casting pretty well for a beginner, with a bit more work his hook-set will be perfected. As if fishing wasn’t enough fun Tommy asked if he could drive the boat. I went to the open area by the boat ramp where I instructed him on throttle, forward, reverse, trim tab etc. I stood behind the driver’s seat to be within reac
h of the throttle. He went forward gently as instructed, then I asked him to gently put it into reverse and back the boat up 10 feet for practice. NOPE! In a split second he SLAMMED the throttle lever full force forward and we were bouncing off rocks and the bow of the boat was now perfectly beached on the shore. Let’s just say it was an epic crash landing, my prop was destroyed and Tommy simply smiled at me and with a chuckle stated “I guess I got forward and reverse mixed up” Nothing I could do but laugh and let him know that it may be a while before his next driving lesson.
FORECAST BY: Dan is an avid angler and host of the television show “Go Fish with Dan Kenney.” The television program airs via the Charter Spectrum network and is seen on YouTube at youtube.com/gofishdanshow. Dan also runs the New England Fishing & Outdoor Expo. Dan wears Typhoon polarized sunglasses on all of his fishing adventures.