Last year Jordan and I started a Father’s Day tradition with our dad, Bruce. It’s pretty cool. We hope to continue it for a long time. (My dad really is Bruce Lee. That’s pretty cool, too.)
After the tournament that’s closest to Father’s Day, we take a few days off and take dad to the St. Lawrence River. We fish for smallmouth. It’s his Father’s Day gift.
Dad is a veterinarian by trade. He does large and small animals so he’s really busy, and with my brother and me on the road a lot we don’t get to see each other as much as we like. Lately, though, dad has slowed down a little so he has more spare time.
That’s good. He’s worked hard all of his life. He deserves to take it a little easier. One of my older friends said he’s slowing down because after your kids leave home it’s like winning the lottery. You don’t need to make so much money. I haven’t experienced that so I can’t say one way or the other. I can say, however, that I’m glad for dad no matter the reason, and so is Jordan.
The St. Lawrence River is perfect for something like we’re doing. We stay at a place right on the water called The Stone Fence Resort. It has cabins right up against the water as well as a nearby launch ramp, boat slips and everything else you need for a short vacation. It’s a special kind of a place.
When we’re not fishing we can sit on the porch and chill while we’re waiting for our food to cook on the grill. That’s special, too. Jordan and I grill most nights when we’re on the road, but it’s usually hamburger. When dad comes we get to eat high-dollar steaks. Our hamburgers are good. His steaks are better.
The fishing in the river is fantastic. The smallmouth aren’t all that big — they grow bigger in the lakes — but they’re healthy, fat and all muscle. The current’s pretty strong in the river so they have to eat a lot just to survive. That makes them easy to catch.
We fished on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after dad flew in on Monday. I’d say we caught between 30 and 50 fish each day. Dad got a couple over 5 pounds and several over 4 pounds. We’re glad. The trip is about spending time together, but it’s still better to catch fish. Besides, we can’t catch smallmouth like that close to where we live so it’s a real treat for all three of us.
I know it’s past Father’s Day, but I wanted to share this everyone. We had such a good time it didn’t seem fair to keep it to ourselves.
One other thing I want to mention before I go is that my brother talked about spinning tackle being able to do the job in his column. If you have any doubts about what he said, look at the picture of dad holding up the big, thick smallie he caught. Then look at the rod and reel in his other hand.
