Today was a Historical Day! We have been planning for several weeks now to take a special father/son team Carping aboard the ALVA D. Chuck Wolf and his eleven year old son Brent have been preparing for this outing since early spring. Chuck is the minister of music at our church and Brent is the youngest of his three children. My goal today was simply to put Brent on some fish and to kick back and watch a kid on a warm Saturday morning in May get a taste of what fishing(LaFavor style) is all about. The ALVA D is not really suited for three people.It's sleek lines and narrow prow skim through the water like a slithery watery snake but it's just not safe for three fisherman. So today we fished aboard Ken “The Webmaster” Higginbotham’s boat, the WILLIAM G. I knew in my heart that I could make a smooth transition from my swivel seats to Ken’s lawn chairs and after a short time I felt right at home. I awakened several times last night remembering the anticipation that I felt every night before my dad (ALVA D) and I went fishing. I wondered if Brent was experiencing any of these same feelings. I hope that the memories that we made today might stick with him for a long time to come.

The Wolf's Tale

Since it has been monsoon season at the Dog for the last week to ten days I decided to try some different strategies today. Our local weatherman Glen Burns said that we have had some "Tornadic Abnormalities" lately with some unusual amounts of rainfall.I personally don’t think Glen has ever baited a hook but I knew the water would be up today. Knowing that the river might be two feet higher than normal and very muddy, I decided to not only use corn but to expand our bait choices to perhaps entice a whiskered Channel Cat or two. Armed with Green Giant corn, worms, chicken liver and shrimp we began our voyage. I knew if something bad happened and we got stranded we could at least heat it all up and make a great Gumbo.

We anchored around 8:15-8:20 am and soon had six lines in the water. Each line was sporting a double rig so we had twelve possibilities at any given moment. I’m no genius but having twelve hooks baited seems to increase the chances for success.

I had never fished with Chuck or Brent and I really didn’t know what to expect. It is very common for a young boy to get restless and impatient. Quite often kids play and spoil the day for everyone around them. For the record....My man Brent hung in there as tight as an Eagle Claw Treble hook!

When the dust settled and the day was done Brent had caught one Channel Cat and eight fine Golden Ghosts! He has been focused for some time now. I should have known he would be in the race before the day was done. I was not disappointed! Brent’s best today was a 3 lb, 11 oz beauty that tied him with Sam Marlow for second place!

You always hear about ”The one that got away”. Sometime after 1:00PM Brent’s rod tip headed UNDER THE BOAT! I knew it was big because that Ugly Stik rod was doubled! A week ago this rod was in New York. Thanks to e bay and my new friend Ira Walter this baby was brought to life again! At first I thought Brent had the anchor rope but we soon discovered that something LARGE had taken his bait under the boat and around some roots in the shallow water behind us! What was it? Only the Shadow knows. I do know this.......It won’t be long until this father and son team will be back at Dog River to try again!

Life Lesson

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. I am convinced that the closest thing to God’s love here on earth is a mother’s love. Their love is totally unconditional. Mom’s still love us no matter where we’ve been or what we have done. They have the hardest and one of the most thankless jobs on earth. Tomorrow is her day. Tell her how much you love her.

Current Standings as of 4:00 PM 5/10/03. (Please note that the DRCFA will be awarding prizes to the top 5 finishers after the Thanksgiving Day cut-off date.)

Special Thanks

I would like to take a moment to thank Sam Wilson of Georgia River Fishing http://www.georgiariverfishing.com/ for his nice comments about the DRCFA and the people who make it up. If you have not visited his site, it is well worth your time. To see our part go to the site and then to the “Braggin’ Board.” Then scroll down to our spot! Sam does a great job and we need to support his website. He also has some nice caps available that would be very appropriate attire aboard the ALVA D.You can thank Sam personally by e-mailing him at [email protected] . Sam is a fellow educator and has a passion for the Georgia outdoors.Drop him a line if you get a chance.

I am attaching two pictures. One of Chuck and Brent and one of Brent and his fine catch!

Captain Horace

" Be ye fishers of men......You catch 'em and He will clean 'em."

www.countylinebc.org < - My Church
www.Vic2Fish.com < - My Friend

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