Zack on the Water

I have been working with a student all year. He loves to fish. I mean he LOVES to fish! We clicked right off the bat thanks to our mutual love. Over the year we have shared stories about fishing, I have taught him a few things here and there, but we have never been out on the water. Zack also watches my blog religiously. He claims he is my biggest fan and is probably right. I have enjoyed working with him.

Earlier this week we took all the students that we work with to a state park on the lake. Fishing was one of the activities that were suggested and some kids brought their gear with them. I knew Zack would be among those that did. I brought along some gear too, figuring I might get a spot of fishing in while helping the kids out with their fishing exploits.

The place that we initially hit the water wasn't ideal. I made a decision to move and Zack and a few other kids came along. My hunch was right about the spot to move to. We weren't there more than 5 minutes when the cry came out "MR. PRICE!!! I have a huge fish on!!!" I looked over and didn't expect it to be as big as it was but from the bend in his spinning rod I could tell it was a nice fish, whatever it was. The fish ran through some weeds and I had to wade out and help him get it free of the weeds so it didn't break off. I got a look at what he had on and it was a really nice carp! The fish put up a great fight and Zack did a great job of landing it.

Shortly after that I got into a nice bowfin which really got the kids excited. It was very cool to see all these kids psyched about fish in the lake. I helped a couple of kids catch their first fish too. Panfish are perfect for this! It was cool. I got into a few other fish too. A decent largemouth followed by a nice little drum and I finished up with a very nice carp that absolutely drilled my bugger on the second strip after landing. They were very aggressive!

As we started walking back through some cattails Zack yelled out "A HUGE bowfin!!!" Sure enough there it was sitting right there in less than a foot of water. Zack dropped his jig in front of it. It took some coaxing but the fish hammered that thing and the race was on. He landed the fish pretty quickly and as we walked a bit to a spot where we could get a better picture there were more bowfin and bigger ones too! I could not resist... I dropped my fly in front of one and it was rapidly inhaled. We had a bowfin double, Zack and I did!

 It was an awesome day on the water. Zack showed me his prowess as an angler and he really shows a lot of potential in becoming a great fisherman! Hopefully one day we will get a fly rod in his hands and incorporate him into the "Brotherhood of the Long Rod"!