memories

 this weekend was the tournament of champions for the hawaii freshwater fishing association. hence i didn't feel like jockeying for position with 10 other boats at the ramp. so no fishing report today for this weekend. i really should join the club though their next tournament is the normal january one i think on the 21st. every year i say i should join and every year i kinda let it pass, guess I'm not driven to compete like some other people. i was filling the fishing void though by watching saturday morning shows and hank parker was being philosophical , he posed the question what makes a good fishing trip? a lot of people he said would awnser that it would be the amount of fish you catch. another might say it would be a lunker you  caught on a trip. perhaps still another would say it was winning a competition at the lake. then he said well. there was this one time........... and he proceeded to tell a story about a memorable trip with his 7yr old son. a trip that had stuck in his mind to this day. i won't be able to paint the picture in as much detail as he did but ill give a brief summary. a beautiful morning, spring possibly early summer, light just coming up as they sat on the bank. deer just walking around the edges of the pond. ducks and other birds flitting about and making their early morning calls. basically god had painted a scene that city people only view in paintings or pictures. and yet they were in it, breathing it,feeling it,living it. and his son overcome by the moment looked at him and said "dad i always want it to be like this " powerful stuff for sure. well i thought about my own reasons for fishing and my most memorable trips. of course a lot involved quanities of fish, a few involve big fish. but the best and most memorable ones always involve my son. i find these days i really can't feel the same way on the water unless he's there with me. i often find myself thinking " son i always want it to be like this".............