| Author | Message | ||
| Sluggo
Minnow Username: Sluggo Post Number: 43 Registered: 8-2004  Rating: N/A |
This sunday I am fishing in the tournament of tournaments! Me against my 9 year old neice. A smack talking 9 year old at that!  She loves to fish, and has been talking trash for weeks since we went out one evening and beat me. Let me set the stage. She asks if I would take her fishing, and of course not having gone in weeks I jump at the chance. I bought her her own fishing pole and tackle box and set her up with some easy baits to fish a while back. I went back and tied on a little 1/8 oz spinner bait, and I just grab my baitcasting reel that had a silver spoon tied on. I didn't really have much faith in catching anything on the spoon, but in a few weeks I am hopefully going to get a quick trip in at South Padre, and I absolutely suck at throwing a baitcasting reel. So, I thought this was a good time to practice. We leave the house, start fishing off the backyard and work our way down the bank. I told her to try this one spot. I said I always catch a few fish right in that corner where the lake turns. Sure enough, first cast off that point and she hooks into a little 1/4 bass. I keep casting and pulling out the occasional birds nest. We walk across the street to the other lake, and try there for a while till it gets dark. Mind you, nothing was said this whole time that we were competing. As we are leaving to walk home, she says "I've got one, you don't have any. I'm beating you." I said, "Oh we're competing now? It was nice of you to let me know ahead of time." Yep, apparently it was a competition the whole time. That was two weeks ago, and I haven't heard the end of it. There is a scoreboard on the dry erase board that says "Katherine 1, Uncle Justin 0, I'm beating you" that I have to look at every time I go to grab my keys. My son has those soap crayons that let you write on the tub and stuff, and every night since I have come home to messages written on the tub about how she was going to win, beat me more, I was going to bring her not only breakfast in bed, but lunch and dinner as well, and the list goes on! I didn't even know we were betting on this thing, but apparently there is some pretty high stakes stuff riding on it! I started leaving messages for her to find as well, and this morning said that after I beat her on Sunday she was going to have to refer to me as Bassmaster from now on and I was going to start calling her Chicken Little for telling lies about beating me. This is serious stuff. I told her she might want to tone down the trash talk cause you never knew what was going to happen when you went out the next time, but nope, I think she turned it up more. She fished for some catfish the other night and ended up missing the bites she got. Good thing, the way the rules are made up I would imagine those would have counted double cause they were caught on a Wednesday and I would be further behind! Wish me luck. I am hoping to get pics of the catches, so tune in to see who is in the lead after Sunday evening. I'm getting a kick out of it, and thought you guys might like to follow along. | ||
| Charles
Moderator Username: Charles Post Number: 415 Registered: 7-2004 Rating: N/A |
Now thats funny. | ||
| Sluggo
Minnow Username: Sluggo Post Number: 44 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
This mornings message actually had "You're going down chicken boy!" in it after I called her a chicken in my last message. | ||
| Bigun
Crappie Username: Bigun Post Number: 542 Registered: 8-2004  Rating: N/A |
Sounds like good family fun. She is gonna be some heartbroke if she loses. It kinda looks like a SNOOK! | ||
| Sturm1022
Crappie Username: Sturm1022 Post Number: 373 Registered: 1-2005  Rating: N/A |
kick her a$$. that is funny as can be. my niece is still not the catchy-catchy so i dont have to worry ----yet my fat fingers cant spell I'll probably turn into a floating turd and Picou will break the knob off my post counter immediately. ATW 2/10/05 
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| Fishinaggie88
Crappie Username: Fishinaggie88 Post Number: 348 Registered: 8-2004  Rating: N/A |
LMAO!!!! That is great!! Better hope she does not luck out and "beat" you next time!!! Love to fish and hunt. | ||
| Barnaclebill
Crappie Username: Barnaclebill Post Number: 320 Registered: 8-2004  Rating: N/A |
Justin, Boy,, if you ain't learned anything else,, you oughtta know better than challenging a lady in a fishing contest,,, everytime I take the wife I get spanked,,, but I guess you gotta learn the hard way,,,,  Born to fish-Forced to work | ||
| Sluggo
Minnow Username: Sluggo Post Number: 45 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
Holy Moly! I have been busy as heck the last few days with a sick kid. The tourney did take, place, lots of pictures, but no recap as of yet. If I have a chance tomorrow, I will get one written and get the pics resized tomorrow night. It was fun. | ||
| Picou
Lunker Username: Picou Post Number: 1300 Registered: 8-2004  Rating: N/A |
Looking forward to hearing and seeing how things went  Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
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| Fishinaggie88
Crappie Username: Fishinaggie88 Post Number: 349 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
Well,,,,,,???? Love to fish and hunt. | ||
| Charles
Moderator Username: Charles Post Number: 422 Registered: 7-2004 Rating: N/A |
Bring it! | ||
| Sluggo
Minnow Username: Sluggo Post Number: 46 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
I've got it written, but again, a sick screaming kiddo prevented me from getting the pics off the camera last night!  I will try again tonight. From the sounds of it, he's feeling better, so it might be possible. | ||
| Sluggo
Minnow Username: Sluggo Post Number: 47 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
I arrived home Friday night wore out, and tired, opened the door to screaming giggling girls that were over for one last slumber party before school kicked off. I walked into the bedroom to kick off my boots and Lisa said, “You have another message.” I walked in and on the bottom of the tub was a huge note that Katherine had written concerning the tournament. I can’t remember everything that was written, but the last sentence said something to the effect of her wining on Sunday, and I would have to call her “my queen” and she would refer to me as her “peasant”. I’m not big on beating kids, especially something like this, but there isn’t any way I’m calling a 9 year old “my queen” when I address her. Let me give you a little of what I am up against. I’m outnumbered. I live in a estrogen stronghold. It’s me and the boy, 16 month old Bryce, against three other girls. Bryce ain’t any help. Sometimes he’ll whack one of them with his little bat when I tell him to, but thats hit or miss, most of the time he’s no help. I lose this thing, and my wife, Katherine, and her Mom will make sure it is WELL known. That stuff will spread like wildfire, not to mention the whole “queen and peasant” thing. It was on. Well, Sunday got here just like it always does right after Saturday. The girls giggled, laughed, screamed, and played till 3:00 a.m. from what they said, but Bryce and I slept right through it all. Once they were all gone, Lisa, Katherine’s Mom Ellen Mari, my sister Jodi, and Katherine all started in on the Mean Girls DVD. I was doing some chores and finally hit a wall and was going to have to leave the house to run to Lowe’s for 4 screws. I went in to change shirts and tell Lisa I was leaving, and she said, “Why don’t you forget that until tomorrow and take Katherine fishing? She’s been asking me about it all morning.” This was probably 1:00 or somewhere in there and it was damned hot, but I really didn’t want to do anymore work anyways. I had been pulling weeds, mowing, cleaning garage, etc since about 7:00 and was spent. I actually just wanted a nap, but fishing would work. I went in and asked her “You fishing today, or did you chicken out?” She just grinned and said “I’m fishing” She wanted to finish the movie, so I went out to get the rods together. When the movie was over she came out and asked which lure she was using. I told her she could use any of them, and she picked a Strike King 3X crawfish in green pumpkin, the same thing I had on. “Can I use this one?” she asked. I told her it would be harder to use, but if she wanted to, she could try it. I had her get a bottle of water, I threw the tackle bag on my back and we were off. We started at the house in the backyard, fished the bank in a few spots to the end of the lake and crossed the street to the other lake and start fishing it.    When we started fishing I showed her what to do with the worm, explained what it would feel like if a bass bit it, and answered her questions. When we were walking across the street to the next lake she asked, “Are you supposed to reel in the line when you make the worm move?” I said “Yeah, I will show you when we get over here to the lake.” We walked up to the lake and I get her to watch how I do it again. About halfway back to the bank I am retelling her that you need to watch your line, sometimes you won’t feel anything, but it will start moving off to one side. I’m looking at her, turn to look at the line as I am reeling and notice a small boil right where the crawfish was, and then there goes my line! I set the hook, and immediately hear “Ah, man!” Happily, I reel in a scrawny skinny bass. He’s ugly, but he counts!   We fish a little while and neither of us get anymore bites. I asked Katherine if she wanted to swap lures and she says yes. Next I tied on a little suspending Rapala crankbait. Usually the worms are the ticket. Today they weren’t hitting them at all, so I was at a loss as to what to try. I tied it on Katherine’s pole and showed her how to work it.  She took off, and I wasted some time digging around in the tackle bag, and ended up tying on this ugly as sin crawfish crankbait that I didn’t think I still had. When I lived in a apartment in Plano, years before I was married, I found this thing floating in the small pond there. It’s Day-Glo yellow and orange, the hooks are rusted, and I had zero faith in this thing.  I didn’t want to swamp her, but stay ahead enough to keep me form having to call her “queen” for the next lifetime! If she caught something then I would pull out something else and go for it again. We kept fishing the end of the lake to no hits for either of us. Again, a lure change was in order. Katherine said she wanted another spinnerbait like she had used the last time to beat me. The only thing I had was some small gold spinner rigs, assorted lead heads, and some bodies from a small beetle spin. We ended up putting together a spinnerbait with gold wire and blade, white lead head, with a short orange body! I had some of the Beetle Spins in black and yellow, but she wanted this thing.  I tied on my super cool Chuck Woolery signature series Motolure Moto minnow! I missed a pic of it, so I snagged this one off the net.  We walked down the bank and I am just fooling around letting her fish. I really thought she would catch something with that spinner. We got about halfway down the length of the lake and I said, “I don’t think it’s a good day for fishing.” “Nope” was all she said. “We can head in if you want to.” "No, I want to stay. Let’s try at the end of the lake, and if we don’t catch anything there, we will go in after that.” "Deal”, I said. At the end of the lake where we were headed, there was some type of grass growing out from the bank and into the water for a little cover. I had had good luck there in the past, and felt sure she would pull one or two out of the area. I stuck to Chuck’s choice in baits. We got down to the end of the lake, I make a cast, the minnow does it’s thing, jerk it once to wind the motor and SMACK! I couldn’t believe it, in the middle of the day, this bass comes up and smacks this thing. He missed it and I tried it again, same place, SMACK! Another miss. Third times a charm right, he hit again, but still missed it. I’m pumped now, I love to catch them on the top. I moved down the lake and notice the sky. It was overcast when we left the house, dark clouds, but nothing bad looking. Now the clouds are getting darker and are still pretty scattered out. I took the camera and snapped a pic, and started fishing again.   Katherine was up ahead of me a good ways, and since I was fishing a lot slower than she was she walked back to where I was. “Any bites?” “Nope” I told her instead of throwing out to the center of the lake, to go back, and throw down the bank. I explained that the bass liked to get up under the grass that was growing out into the water in that area. I told her to cast about 10 or 15 feet out from the bank, and then just pull the bait back to her right in front of all that grass floating on the top of the water. Her first cast was beautiful, right where you needed it. I said “Good job, just like that!” About halfway back in, the water boiled, and a fish hit. Missed it! “Ah, man!” “Try it again, just like you did there and you will get a fish.” Casting was the problem now. I don’t know if she was having trouble with the rod and reel and not telling me about it, or just tired, but she couldn’t make a cast like the first one for anything. It wasn’t long after that I decided we should pack it in. We got the gear together, I threw on the tackle bag, and we set out for home. We hadn’t gone 5 steps when BOOM! A huge clap of thunder hit, and within 30 seconds it had gone from calm to full on lightning storm!  There was bolts of lightning everywhere and lightning so loud it almost hurt your ears. I looked back at Katherine and she had her rod thrown over her shoulder sticking straight up and back behind her, on the edge of the lake! I told her to put it down and she takes it off her shoulder, and holds it out in front of her straight up and down but lower. I took the rod from her and had her carry the camera instead, and it started to rain big heavy drops. I looked back and asked her, “Can you run on this hill?” “Yeah”, and we took off for home. I haven’t seen lightning that bad in a while and I don’t think I have ever seen it come up so quick without hearing some rumblings off in the distance first. We got home just as the bottom dropped out and made it under the front porch wet, but not drenched like we would’ve been had we been a few seconds later.  So, the tournament ended, tied 1-1. I asked her if this was the end of the tournament, and she said “It doesn’t have to be. We can fish until one of us reaches 100!” | ||
| Sluggo
Minnow Username: Sluggo Post Number: 48 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
A couple more pics. Katherine beating the lake to a froth with the Rapala.  Katherine heading to the end of the second lake.  This was the first time I got to really use my new tackle bag that I picked up a Bass Pro Shops a while back. It's the XPS 360 rolling backpack system. The only thing that was a headache was it was hard to control when you were rolling it along, but it was loaded with all my gear, and I just used it as a backpack and it was comfortable. I really liekd it. It's going to work great when I head to New York next summer.  | ||
| Fishinaggie88
Crappie Username: Fishinaggie88 Post Number: 350 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
Great story. Those summer thunderstorms can really sneak up on you!!! Glad y'all were safe. Looking forward to more installments if there are any. Love to fish and hunt. | ||
| Picou
Lunker Username: Picou Post Number: 1312 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
I ain't no peasant and she's not my Queen  Glad to see you got outa there before it came loose on ya'll got wet or worse -- hurt. Good job on making time for her and getting her out there... You're awesome dude!!! Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
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| Barnaclebill
Crappie Username: Barnaclebill Post Number: 330 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
heck of a report ,,,, nothing like a little friendly competition !! Born to fish-Forced to work |
