Fishing Fever In 1967

I grew up fishing the rivers and streams of Southwest Missouri. My Dad was a fishing nut! We did not have to go far to catch a good fish. I guess I was about 15 years old, one Saturday morning we got up early, and drove down 4 or 5 miles east of Springfield. This would be the James River, which runs down and empties into Table Rock Lake. We drove down to a bridge, and put the canoe in right below the bridge. It was about 6 am in the morning, I could see the current was strong and steam rising off the fast water. I could also see that on upstream about 200 yards was a old railroad bridge. Dad said we were going to fish between the two bridges. We would paddle upstream and drift back down, then do it all over again. About the third time we paddled up, and drifted back, I thought I had hooked a big log, I was tugging trying to break the the lure loose, before it abruptly would snap my line. I was fishing with a Mepp's spinner, my river favorite, with a brown hackle wooly worm attached to the end. The current was very strong, and I was trying to land this big log, bringing it up across the current. All of the sudden, right in the middle of the river a large fish jumped clearly out of the water. This was no log I had hooked, My Dad was saying, you got a good one, get him in! He was in fact a 4 LB. Smallmouth Bass, which is a good Small mouth by any standards.

That is me, fifteen years old, with the big one that did not get away!............Anybody wanna go Fishin!!

Have a Good Week!
Daniel