| October 26th, 2002 Some said it would rain. It didn't.
It seemed until this morning that Dennis " Fire in the
hole" Brown would be this years winner of the much sought after and coveted COY
award( Carp of the Year). I hate it for you ol' buddy but today the Captain boated a Seven
pound four ounce GOLD fashioned swift swimming silt sucking Carp! It is so hard to be
humble at a time like this!!!
Here is the way it went down: I anchored at 9:30 am and soon
had 6 rods out ( Hey! You fish your way and I'll fish mine!) In about an hour I lost a
fish around the anchor rope . Soon there after another rod went off and I had a mere 4 1/2
pounder on the line. As I was boating him the big boy struck!! The rod was secure and the
reel was Screeeeeemin" ! I had a brief flashback of fishing for Kings out from Amelia
Island with my brother Danny. I couldn't reach the bucket of water I had to cool off the
drag so I just had to go for it! Minutes went by before I turned him . What a fish!! Soon
he was safely in the net where he was weighed, pictured and released. Whew! I get winded
just reliving the battle!
I also want to confess that I did a little Bass fishin'
today. After catching one poor creature I'll stick to corn and Carp. That Bass fishing
reminds me of Golf or Soccer.
On a serious note I did some reflecting today. I caught
another keeper 21 years ago while trolling around the Nursery at Parkwaay Hospital. She
weighed ELEVEN pounds and for 21 years she has brought a joy to my heart that only a gift
from God can bring! Today is her birthdaay and since she reads these reports she won't be
surprised when I say that I love her dearly and I am so proud to be her dad!
We all have Keepers in our lives. Why don't you tell 'em
today that you love them?
Many of you are dear friends and I want you to know that You
all mean a lot to me. I love you for putting up with my foolishness and I love you for
your friendship.
I hope that you will be in church tomorrow with that friend
"that sticks closer to you than a brother."
Tight lines to all,
Captain H.F.LaFavor
USS ALVA D Home
Port-Dog River USA  |