Remember what excited you as a kid? For this fishing guide, it was the red and white bobber

I have one early fishing experience that’s affected me for life, and it all started with a red and white bobber.

I remember sitting on a grass bank that slopes into a cove in a pond surrounded by cattails. It’s probably about 30 feet from my edge of the cove to the other side. I can barely see the tips of weeds and plants just under the water around the shore but out a few feet from the edge it’s obviously deeper. Wonder what might be waiting to bite.

Tiny bass and bluegill streaked away as I snuck up on the spot. I got my little pole, a perfect red and white bobber and a small mustard hook baited with a small nightcrawler all ready. I cast out my little rig and waited.

The bobber sent out a small wave upon hitting the water, and sometimes within seconds something would cause the bobber to quiver and shake. Trying to interpret the small gyrations and tiny shaking of the bobber added to the anticipation. Never take your eye off the bobber!

When should I set the hook as the unseen fish ravaged the bait? Wait too long and the bare hook told me not to wait so long next time!

The best part was watching the bobber shimmy, then suddenly disappear beneath the surface. Many times the bait and hook just pulled out of the fish’s mouth when I set the hook, but feeling the powerful little surges of a hooked bluegill was exciting enough for a young boy. They were beautiful little creatures. I never kept them; it didn’t seem right.

These tiny fish were fearless, and there was always another one that was ready to tackle my bait. I never got tired of watching the bobber quiver, jump, spin and take off like a sled just under the surface, towed by a hungry ‘gill who had been waiting for its turn.

The suspense of never really knowing what might be on the end of my line was exciting. Maybe something monstrous or unusual? That was the impossible/possible dream. The vision continues to this day.

Funny how dreams begin, and how that special seed grows into something huge that you pursue all your life.. No matter how many fish I’ve caught, or how big they’ve been, it all goes back to that very first moment when a big bluegill pulled my big red and white bobber under, leaving me deeply and irrevocably hooked for life. The dream continues! Never give up!