The water is where many magical memories of fathers and fishing happen. In the realm of professional bass fishing, many pros can immediately point to some of their favorite memories of being with their fathers on the water. With Father's Day approaching, we asked BASS Elite Series pros Bobby Lane, Josh Bertrand, Ott Defoe and Bradley Roy to provide their fondest memories of fishing with their fathers and here are the stories we received.
Bobby Lane's "big clump of 'disappointment'"
I was probably about 12 years old when I got my first true baitcaster rod and reel. After I got it, Dad and I planned a special trip to Kissimmee so I could use it for the first time. Topwater lures were all we threw back then – period. We didn't know about flipping or punching or any of that stuff.
So I tied on a Devil's Horse on my brand new baitcaster and I'm at that point where I want to prove to Dad that I can handle this new baitcaster. He starts testing me a little bit, telling me to throw into some small holes in the vegetation – maybe 2-foot by 2-foot holes. He points to one little hole way back in some thick grass and says, "see if you can hit that one." So I fling a cast out there and it's a dead ringer, it lands perfectly in this little open hole in the weeds. I was still kind of basking in the glow of my casting perfection when an enormous explosion just flushes my topwater. I set the hook and I've got her and it's a giant – I mean a giant. Well, she heads straight into all that thick grass and hydrilla and completely bogs down and quits fighting. I just bust out into tears because I'm totally convinced the fish is gone. And Dad is yelling excitedly, "Keep reeling! Don't stop! Keep reeling." So I keep tugging and finally this big wad breaks free and I'm reeling it towards the boat, but it has no fight whatsoever – it's just a giant wad of lifeless grass. I stop reeling and start crying again because I just know it's a big clump of disappointment on the end of the line.
But Dad is grabbing the net and still coaching me saying, "Don't stop reeling until you get it all the way to the boat!"
Dad leans out and nets this giant clump of weeds. And I'm starting to think he has lost his mind. Why is Dad netting weeds? He lays the net down in the bottom of the boat with all those weeds in it and smiles as big as a dad can smile and says, "Look at what you just caught."
Suddenly the whole clump of weeds moved and the big white belly of a 10-pound bass was exposed – I will never forget that moment as long as I live. To this day, when I get a big bass bogged up in thick vegetation and I go to dig it out, when I finally see it reminds me of that extremely special moment with my dad.
Read Josh Bertrand, Ott Defoe and Bradley Roy's memories of On Fathers and Fishing here.
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