RISE Kid Fishing With Captain Andy April 25

Sometimes a Program starts off even better than we dare dream for and Saturdays fishing outing on Ray Hubbard was one of those times. Our Adventure started a little slow because of the wind preventing us from taking the boat out but the backup plan was to ask Ellis an employee up at Bass Pro who has a baited slip in a prime location if we could use his slip for our fishing Program and he not only offered up his slip but also delayed going into work so he could help offer an EXCELLENT Adventure for these young fisherpeople. Our three participants included Alex, Lauryn and Tyler and each caught way over 20 fish each and in fact they were getting tired from reeling in so many fish.

Most of the fish caught were Sand Bass with a few catfish and crappie caught. As it turned out a fisherman way at the other end of the dock let us know that he was catching fish with every cast so we all went down there and sure enough everyone started catching a lot of fish. I think that I should clear up one thing some of you might hear from someone that was out there how he caught twice as many fish as anyone else I'm not going to mention his name because I don't want to hurt Andy OOPS but he was the only one using two lures at a time (except when he offered it to me for a while and I fished but I don't want to focus on that part). We went through more than 15 dozen minnows and I believe they all were able to bait their own hooks maybe so that they could get their bait back in the water quicker and catch mor fish. This was one of my most special days with RISE and I know Andy agrees that seeing a new program come together and benefit these kids is why we put the hours in to build a quality Program that can benefit so many and bring so much joy to both them and us. Lauryn and her mother were the only ones who wanted fish so they took home a lot of fish and since Lauryn was going to the Mavericks game they couldn't hang around till we got the fish cleaned so Glenda took home a very heavy basket of fish and she may still be there filleting those fish two days later. If you listen to the stories that Tyler will be telling I'm sure that he will mention how he caught the very first fish a crappie and as for how many he actually caught I can't say since he and his dad John were at the end of the dock on the other side of a boat so I heard a lot of yelling and a lot of fish came from there to the basket but I don't have proof that he actually caught them it could be that the fish were just jumping up on the dock and laying at his feet waiting to go to the basket, I really don't know for sure. Alex and her parents were there and she caught a catfish for her first fish (by the time I was in position with the camera it was laying on the dock so I asked her to drop him back in the water and reel it in again). I mention this because when Alex is telling her fish stories you might need to subtract one from her total if she is counting catching that one twice. I guess if you reel in more than thirty fish adding one more isn't so important. I want to thank the volunteers who's time helped this Program succeed included of coarse are Andy and Tracy Smith as well as John a friend of mine for over 30 years who is in charge of the TEXAS HUNTING AND FISHING FORUM which has a section for disabled hunters and fishermen and he helped by telling of areas he has baited in the lake over the years. I remember the PVC Crappie trees he was building that took up most of his backyard a couple years ago. And a special thank you goes to Ellis Lee for the use of his slip and for bringing the condiments from his house after he called back to see how things were going and I told him I was about to head home and get what I had forgotten. Thank you Ellis for helping to make this adventure even more special than I had dreamed. I still haven't filled all the spots for our next outing so hurry up and maybe you can be a part of our next GREAT ADVENTURE.