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JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR
ORDERED
By: Ron Wilson
August 18, 2008.... A couple months ago
as I was being wheeled in for a minor operation under partial sedation.
I
remembered Doctor Beck and his assistants walking behind the bed as I
was being wheeled in to have a kidney stone blasted out. I remember
saying hi doc are we going fishing? He smiled and said no I am but your
not! Well everything came out ok and Doctor Beck had a successful
fishing trip!
I had just about forgot about the
invitation when a phone call came. Hey Ron this is Doctor Beck and my
grandson 12-year-old Nathan Barber from Tacoma Washington is down and we
would like to go fishing Wednesday.
Wednesday arrived and we met in Oakdale
to head for the private fishing club pond that I belong to. Having
raised a couple boys I knew the attention span would be minimal and
boredom would soon set in no matter how good the fishing was. I guess at
a young age the brain says I have been there done that now lets do
something else.
We arrived at the pond and Nathan was a
little rusty but grandpa soon had him making some decent casts. Doctor
Beck would encourage him when ever he made a good cast by saying nice
cast and Nathan would reply with thank you every time. Good manners
these days from a 12 year old are hard to find, I could see immediately
that he had been brought up well.
In no time at all we were catching fish
after fish. No monsters but some nice fighters in the 1 and 2 pound
class. The bite was still on even though we never arrived until after 8
a.m. I just love it when a plan comes together.
I worked our way down the pond toward the
dam and when I got close to where I thought the
big fish were holding Doctor Beck made a great cast to some moss
next to deep water and he was rewarded with a nice bass in the 6 pound
class. After some good rod bowing and drag pulling the fish was brought
along side for me to lip.
A couple snap shots and a release, that’s
why the pond fishes so good it’s a catch and release only fishing club
and the fishery is awesome when the bite is on.
Down by the dam Doctor
Beck hooked one of
the fish I wanted them to catch. By the way it was pulling drag it was
in the 8 pound class. Doctor Beck knew it was his biggest bass ever but
decided to had his pole over to Nathan so he could fight the fish. Well
the big fish made a dive into the weeds and by the time we got to the
fish he had managed to shake the small hook and swim off.
In the last couple months I have really
got some fine lessons on just how well a
black bass can spit a bait. I got to watch one up close after I
had got it out of a live well in the delta and re-hooked it on another
youngsters line so he could reel it in. As I released the fish it
immediately started smacking his jaws together working the darthead out
of it lips and spitting the hook.
During the first couple hours Nathan was
kept busy casting and reeling in fish, watching the depth finder and
watching all the great wildlife that lives on and around the pond.
Boredom was starting to set in and his
mind started working overtime. Why is the boat moving that way Nathan
asked. Nathan had told me earlier that morning that he wanted to be a
rocket scientist when he grows up so I could not resist saying well it
operates by mental telepathy. All I have to do is think left or right
and the boat moves that way. He gave me a puzzled look and I had to come
clean and tell and show him about the
trolling motor and how it worked.
 For
a change of pace Nathan wanted to use grandpa’s fly rod to fish with so
Dr. Beck showed him how to rig it up and do a little fly casting. Doctor
Beck asked me if I had any flies on board. I said no they are all at
home, I guess the next time I tell someone that I will supply the
fishing equipment I better find out what type they prefer instead of
assuming they use what I use. Doctor Beck is an avid fly fisherman and
ties his own flies.
I had brought along the right equipment
to fish with but for an avid fly fisherman it’s just not the same. I
should have had a 6 to 9 weight fly rod and some streamers and poppers
to use. I know that we wouldn’t have caught near the 37 fish we boated
but believe it or not a lot of people don’t care about the numbers, its
more about I want to fish my style and my way, the catching is
secondary.
When Nathan laid his pole down at 11 a.m.
I knew that he had had enough. I hated to leave when the fish were still
biting and I think Doctor Beck would have been more than happy to fight
another dozen fish or so but they had some afternoon activities planned
so it was time to leave.
On the way home I glanced in the rear
view mirror and noticed Nathan fast asleep in the back seat, a sure sign
of a successful morning outing where he got wore out learning things.
Doctor Beck is planning on going to a
fly fishing clinic
with Nathan in the near future. I learned that Nathan will not touch a
fish so some long forceps will be needed.
Like I have always said if you want to
get to know someone, take them fishing or hunting. During the morning
outing I learned that Doctor Beck is an avid sportsmen who not only
fishes but hunts also, |
