My Friend Katie 
mohawksyd
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My Friend Katie
Kind of a long read, but bear with me... Any person who spends any appreciable amount of time in the woods or on a stream has had "an experience." And while often people tend to focus on the negatives (the one that got away, the jerk who walked under your stand and scared away your deer, the pompous****who squeezed into your fishing hole and let his kids throw rocks at that biggin' you just about had figured out), I wanted to share an experience I had on Sunday.
I went somewhere new on Sunday. I spent the night before tying new flies, cleaning gear, and making sure that everything was READY for my new journey. I was excited, if not a little anxious. I had but a very vague idea of where I was going and even less of an idea where I'd fish once I got there. I drove around and saw crowds of people, presumably fishing the "popular spots," i.e., those places known for their easy access and fish stocking routes. Not my brand of whiskey - I hate crowds, and unless I'm fishing with my family, or good friends, two's a crowd.
So I drove away from the masses in search of some solitude (which can be a relative term). Before long I was consistently hauling feesh from an unassuming piece of water.
All by myself, relishing my new-found success, I said out loud, "I can NOT believe this. I can't believe there's nobody else here." As the hookups became more frequent, I started hoping nobody would see me. I was having fun and really didn't want someone discovering my secluded triumph. Call me selfish. I'll share water with anyone, typically. Sometimes, a man just wants to be alone with his thoughts. Cue the truck door slamming and footsteps getting closer. I winced. "Dang it, there goes the neighborhood." I didn't even look up. I just knew it was over. Boy was I ever wrong. The party was just beginning.
I heard the excited voice of a young girl exclaim "Dad! That guy just caught one!" I looked over my shoulder and smiled at the cute little girl, maybe nine years old, with her pink sweatshirt and white headband covering her ears, dressed in a fashionable pair of hip waders. I released my fish and worked a drift through the seam of water that had been so good to me. Another hook up. "Dad! He caught another one!" I could hear the girl's Dad saying something on the order of "Alright, I'm coming. Just hold on a minute." "Dad, another one! This man's really good!"
I think I was just stupid lucky, but who was I to diminish my new-found celebrity?
The girl's dad came over as I brought to hand my fourth trout since they'd arrived and said, "Okay, well, just go on up above him so you don't disturb him. I'll bring your fishing rod to you."
I'd been "above." It was rough walking and hadn't produced anything. He didn't want to take her up there. I turned and asked the little girl - in the same voice I'd heard my Grandpa use a thousand times before "So, how many did you catch today?"
"None. We tried another place that we thought would be really good but I didn't catch any."
"Aw, well, I'll tell you what." I set the hook on another one. "Would you like to reel this one in for me? My arm is getting tired." I winked at her Dad and told him, "I'll move out of the way and you can fish right here."
Her dad smiled and said, "Naw, you go ahead. We don't want to take your spot from you."
"It's not my spot anymore. It's hers," and I stepped aside.
Her dad looked at me like I'd just given him the keys to my truck. "You sure?"
"You bet. HER catching fish is WAY more important than me catching fish."
He thanked me, and he stood next to her showing her how to flip her little trout magnet into the current so as to avoid the obstacles. It wasn't too long before I heard the splish splash of the young girl's first fish.
"Katie, you stay right here, I'm going to get the camera. Don't go anywhere, and let this man fish, too."
"I'm fine right here." And to prove my point, I cast a line upstream and within seconds had another one on the line. I lifted my glasses and winked at Katie and said, "See what I mean? Plenty of room, and plenty of fish. You're fine."
Her dad started walking up to his vehicle and I told him, "I'll keep an eye on her. She's fine." Katie would cast out, and she'd catch one, then she'd miss a bunch. I could see her lure passing right over the heads of the fish.
"I'm gonna let you in on a couple of secrets. First, take your rod tip out of the water. The fish can hear you reeling in your line." (I don't know if it's true or not, but it sounded like genius.) "Second, when you cast into the hole, count to three before you start reeling." She cast out and I could hear her whispering to herself, "One...Two...Three," then two cranks on her reel and I watched the trout snatch her lure. Katie's game was ON!
Her Dad came back and took a picture. "Okay, Katie, let's move on and let this nice man have his spot back."
I laughed out loud, "She's not taking my spot. I gave it to her. You guys go ahead and fish. I'm going to take a break."
Every once in a while, Katie would catch a fish and I'd flip my line up through and catch another while she unhooked it. I could've moved on. I should've moved on. But watching this little girl catching fish with her dad was just too precious to give up. I'd been there - both as a Dad AND as a kid. She was doing everything right, and they were having fun. It was priceless.
She caught another one...and another one...her smile was infectious and her enthusiasm uncurbable. I was having almost as much fun watching her as she was catching them. Katie's dad and I exchanged pleasantries for a while until he broke the disappointing news to Katie that he had a baseball game to coach at 2:30, and it was time to go.
He shook my hand and repeated, "Thank you very much. You're so kind."
"Think nothing of it. I enjoyed this. You two totally made my trip."
I removed my polarized glasses and took from my fly box a trout magnet I had found last year on another creek. "Here, Katie. You keep this. Just promise me that you'll release every fish that you catch with it so you can catch them again when they get bigger." I extended a handshake to the young lady.
"I will. Thank you for being so kind to me."
Geez. Outta the mouths of babes. Right in the ol' ticker. I got a little teary-eyed and my face got flush, so I quickly flipped my glasses down, and replied, "Aw, you're more than welcome, Kiddo. You just go to school and tell everyone that you caught a bunch of fish and released them all so someone can catch them another day."
"Okay, I will!" And with that, Katie and her dad walked up the hill and out of sight.
There was plenty of fishing left, but my day was complete. That little girl melted my heart, made her dad smile, and had a time she hopefully won't soon forget. I started out in search of new water - new opportunity. I ended the day with so much more.
post edited by mohawksyd - 2012/04/03 23:23:33
"For the supreme test of a fisherman is not how many fish he has caught...but what he has caught when he has caught no fish." - John H. Bradley
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doubletaper
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/02 08:04:20
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Fisherlady2
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/02 08:11:03
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Priceless!! Thank you for getting my day on the right track! 
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esbdmb
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/02 11:01:15
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bingsbaits
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/02 11:44:30
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Well done..... Pretty good for an Huber flysnob.....  
post edited by bingsbaits - 2012/04/02 11:45:12
"There is a pleasure in Angling that no one knows but the Angler himself". WB
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Catchabigone
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/02 14:55:34
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that's going to be a day Katie will never forget and one day even pay it forward.
Congratulation.....great read
Look to the heavens and thank God everyday that hunting is such a grand part of our lives. Ted Nugent
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Skip16503
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/02 15:03:06
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You're a good man Dan That made me smile...........
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DarDys
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/03 09:13:39
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And they say UFA memebers don't have a heart.
The poster formally known as Duncsdad Everything I say can be fully substantiated by my own opinion.
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Shake n Bake
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/03 15:09:53
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Boy am I glad I read all that. Great story!
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QuackerSmacker
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/04 10:48:01
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You sir are a good man, thanks for the time given to this youngster, she will remember this day I'm sure.
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monrivermonster
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/04 14:44:03
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acmaul13
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RE: My Friend Katie
2012/04/05 22:39:34
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Just plain AWESOME Syd  
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