Fishin

When I was a little boy not more than four or five,
daddy took me on my first fishin trip.
He said,"Now pay attention son,
don't give me any lip.
What you learn here today,
you may not fully understand,
but these here fishes,
are a lot like your fellowman."

As we settled in on that creek bank,
at his favorite fishin hole.
We took a minute or two to admire,
our long cane fishin pole.
Daddy said," These fishin poles,
grow right here along these banks.
God knew we'ed need em,
so first lets give him thanks.

Then I said, "But daddy,...
your fishin pole is long and limber,
strung with catgut line,
your bobber is big and red,
but take a look at mine!
My fishin pole is short and stiff,
my bobber ain't much bigger than a dime!
Would you still be thanking God,
if my fishin pole was yours,
and your fishin pole was mine?"

The old man looked at me,
with smiling blue eyes and said,
"Bigger ain't always better son,
more don't always satisfy.
Like this here creek is filled with fishes,
the world is filled with lies.

Now they've got some real nice rod and reels,
down at the hardware store,
with a mile of catgut on a spool,
but what do we need that for?
This little creek,
is fifty feet at it's widest spot.
We don't need that fancy rod and reel,
we need what we got.

Now look at you and me son,
my arms are long, my hands are big,
I'm a full grown man.
I cut these fishin poles,
just to fit our hand.
While you fishin on this side of the creek,
I'll be fishin on that,
you'll be catching brim and perch,
I'll be catching cat.
It works out just fine too don't it son,
my fishin pole being long,
and yours being short,
me being big and you being small?
Them fishes better watch out,
or you and me might catch em all!"


We bowed our heads then daddy and me,
as I clutched my short and perfect fishin pole.
We thanked God for our long canes,
and the fish in the fishin hole.
Daddy thanked God for a lot of things,
I wish I could remember it all.
Cause when daddy was finished prayin,
my fishin pole was long enough,
and I was ten feet tall.

Now we had an old water bucket,
filled with dirt and wiggle worms.
When daddy said to hand him one,
I thought of what momma said,
about dirty hands and germs.
I thought maybe,...
I could fish him out one with a stick.
But the way those wiggle worms were wigglin,
I knew that would be quite a trick!

Daddy must have read my mind,
cause he grinned at me and said,
"Don't worry son, that ain't dirty dirt.
We fishermen know what to do,
we just wipe it on our shirt!"
So I dug my hands in the cool moist dirt,
that filled the old water bucket.
Those wiggle worms might as well been snakes,
but for daddy I would rise above it.

Somehow he knew I'd conqured my fear,
and what a mighty effort it was.
Because he noted the attributes of my fearsome catch,
as only a daddy does.
"Woah! This one like to have been a snake!
If he was any bigger,
we'ed have to save him for the lake!"

My heart was poundin a mite,
my hand might have shook.
As daddy showed me how,
to put that wiggle worm on a hook.
But as we did the dirty deed,
he started tellin me about the fish,
and how a wiggle worm was their favorite dish.

He said, " this fishin hole is deep in spots,
thats what the catfish like.
They lay on the bottom where it's dark,
they don't care much for the light.
They get real big sometimes,
just waiting patient,
for the current to provide their food.
I guess you could say lazy,
best describes the catfishes mood."

"And in this fishin hole,
there's lots of perch and brim.
They'll eat anything that moves,
if it's not bigger than them.
They find strength in numbers,
it's what we call a school.
Hit hard and fast,
get every bite you can!
Thats their Golden Rule.
They lurk in the shadows,
in the tree roots along the bank.
Their greedy little rascals,
who can't resist a wiggler,
they just can't!"

"Now there's other fish in this creek,
like the bass and the pike,
maybe a carp or two,
a gar and the like.
But you can't learn everything in just one day,
so lets talk a bit of those little minnows there,
you see swiming away.

They never get very big,
even when their full grown.
They rarely get much more,
than an inch or two long.
But if I had to be a fish in this fishin hole,
I'd be a little minnow.
You can't catch one with a pole!

And the moral of this epic fish tail is...:-)

Being a little fish has it's advantages! :-)