Todd_NE
08-23-2002, 01:22 PM
My favorite rod in the whole world, and I own somewhere either way of 40 depending on if my wife is asking, is a sparkling new but aged Cabela's IM6 casting rod and a Zebco reel that I gave my stepdad seven years ago. He loved to fish and in his retirement became Mr. Largemouth Bass where I grew up in Kansas. He hated spinning and baitcast reels and only used spincast. He had 40 or so ponds he was permitted to fish (cattle pasture spring ponds) and told me a story about a "Monster" bass he kept hooking and losing in a certain pond I hadn't fished with him before because he "couldn't stop it". 6-8# fish didn't impress him so I knew it was a Moby.
He, like a lot of too poor farmers, always bought cheap fishing stuff for himself and I thought I owed him something nice for always treating me like a son and taking me fishing. I scraped up enough money to buy him this rod and some powerbait plastic worms when I was just out of college and $40 looked like $400 to me.
Unfortunately he passed away a few weeks after I gave it to him but I found the rod with his favoite purple power bait worm and a couple of bead clackers tied ahead of it, just like how I had showed him to rig up to drive those bass nuts when he twitched it across the the top of the moss mats in late summer. The worm was beat to $%!@#$%@ and the line was frayed pretty bad so I know he got into something good but I never knew for sure if he landed his nemesis, I think he'd have called me if he did.
That rod basically sits around now doing nothing, but I keep it in a little corner of what I call my office at home. To be honest, it looks out of place with the gobs of "nicer" stuff I have strewn around, but I like having it out in the open, sorta in the way. I always think I'm going to use it and I have a few times, but maybe I should give it to the neighbor kid who lives to fish or maybe one of my kids if we have some one of these days.
After he passed away, I just cut the line above the hook on that 'ol plastic worm and stuffed it in the pocket of his "I hate this suit and tie" outfit he had on at the funeral home when no one was looking. I think he would have appreciated the gesture.
My stepdad has been gone for 7 years coming up in a few days and I want to tell all of you stepfathers and stepmothers something. A lot of folks put a negative connotation into anything regarding step family situations, I don't. I was one of the lucky ones, my stepfather was a good man who treated me like one of his own. Any of you out there reading this, I hope you realize what an influence you can have.
I think in a few days I owe the neighbor kid a little trip.
T
He, like a lot of too poor farmers, always bought cheap fishing stuff for himself and I thought I owed him something nice for always treating me like a son and taking me fishing. I scraped up enough money to buy him this rod and some powerbait plastic worms when I was just out of college and $40 looked like $400 to me.
Unfortunately he passed away a few weeks after I gave it to him but I found the rod with his favoite purple power bait worm and a couple of bead clackers tied ahead of it, just like how I had showed him to rig up to drive those bass nuts when he twitched it across the the top of the moss mats in late summer. The worm was beat to $%!@#$%@ and the line was frayed pretty bad so I know he got into something good but I never knew for sure if he landed his nemesis, I think he'd have called me if he did.
That rod basically sits around now doing nothing, but I keep it in a little corner of what I call my office at home. To be honest, it looks out of place with the gobs of "nicer" stuff I have strewn around, but I like having it out in the open, sorta in the way. I always think I'm going to use it and I have a few times, but maybe I should give it to the neighbor kid who lives to fish or maybe one of my kids if we have some one of these days.
After he passed away, I just cut the line above the hook on that 'ol plastic worm and stuffed it in the pocket of his "I hate this suit and tie" outfit he had on at the funeral home when no one was looking. I think he would have appreciated the gesture.
My stepdad has been gone for 7 years coming up in a few days and I want to tell all of you stepfathers and stepmothers something. A lot of folks put a negative connotation into anything regarding step family situations, I don't. I was one of the lucky ones, my stepfather was a good man who treated me like one of his own. Any of you out there reading this, I hope you realize what an influence you can have.
I think in a few days I owe the neighbor kid a little trip.
T