As a kid, I spent a lot of time with my Grandpa on his bass boat. I would always man the back seat, and grandpa would be in the front running the foot-mounted trolling motor. The boat was a 1980s AstroGlass bass boat, with a GIANT Mercury motor that I sometimes pretended to be a Transformer, ready to take over the world. Reminiscing a bit, I remember when I would get tired, or just needed a break; I’d just man the live well, opening it for Grandpa to toss in the keeper fish. It seemed like every fish he caught was a keeper. Whether we were bluegill fishing, bass fishing, or trolling weed edges for whatever would bite, it didn’t matter because I was fishing with Grandpa, and there weren’t many better days than those. To me, Grandpa was the best, and I’d always hoped to be half the fisherman he was. Some of my best memories are from the back of that old AstroGlass boat, and to this day I wish I could go back to relive those moments with him.
One of the most important lessons that I still use to this day is Grandpa very sternly telling me to “Set the DAMN hook!” I remember I would see my bobber bounce, and I’d just start reeling in without setting the hook. It would drive my Grandpa nuts when I did that, but now I can sit back and laugh at his phrase as I have spent time with kids who are just learning the art of setting the hook. However, back then I didn’t understand what “setting the hook” was, and each time I’d get a bite, I’d just hope that my hook would set itself, and I could avoid the “SET THE DAMN HOOK” routine Grandpa would give me.
Well, one day Grandpa and I were out fishing on Lake Hamlin in Ludington, MI. We had caught a few, but we needed a few more. The bite slowed down, and I began my million question marathon. As he was answering some unimportant question I asked, his bobber began to bounce. I thought that maybe I could learn what setting the hook was by watching his routine after getting a bite. His bobber bounced again, and he slowly started to reel in the slack of his line…. was that setting the hook? Surely not, cause I do that already. It wasn’t seconds later that his bobber disappeared with a PLUMP under the water. With a swift and quick yank of the rod straight up, he was reeling in a nice fat bluegill. My jaw dropped and then I knew what setting the hook was! It was nothing more than that quick yank of the rod tip that set the hook into the fish’s mouth…. DUH! I remember thinking that I’ve got this now, and I’ll never miss a fish again! Much to my surprise, there was more to setting the hook than a quick yank, so my goal each trip was to get better at setting the hook. Even after learning how to set the hook, I’d still get the “SET THE DAMN HOOK” statement when I wouldn’t do it hard enough, or if I simply forgot.
I eventually got it down pretty good, and sometimes too well. Still to this day, I’ll have a small bluegill nibbling on my beemoth, and right when the bobber goes under I’m setting the hook with full intensity. Sometimes too hard, this leads to bobber, hook, weight, and beemoth soaring out of the water towards my head like a missile. It seemed finding that middle ground of setting the hook just right was quite the task, and an art that my Grandpa had down pat. Over the years I’ve grown quite a bit, and still almost every fishing trip I take I find myself dodging that rocketing bobber, hook, weight, and beemoth. However most of the time I get the hook set just right. I believe that my Grandpa would be proud to fish next to me nowadays, and I hope that as I grow old, I’ll have a Grandkid who I can teach to SET THE DAMN HOOK!
Other upcoming Free Fishing Days include June 1 & 2, 2013. For more information on IDNR Free Fishing Days click on the following link....IDNR - Free Fishing Info.
By: Joey W. Buttram
By: Joey W. Buttram
