Well, the thing that I never thought would never happen, has finally happened.
I had quit fishing pretty much. I had sold most, if not all of my tackle when I quit working offshore, but when my son hit 15-16 he started pestering me to take him. I had put it off I guess for a while because I had gotten in to making music and just didn’t think about fishing much. We had no boat or gear so, one day we went out to the pier on the beach. From then on we were instantly hooked back in to fishing. Most afternoons we were out on the rail catching Spanish and Kings. We started getting into Cobia fishing and we had a couple of rods built and we spent tons of time out in the yard practicing with our Cobia gear to be able to sight fish and cast a jig to them from the pier. Months and months this went on. One day around that time one of us cast over the power lines that cross our yard, and the jig got wrapped up and after a while of trying to get it loose we just broke it off. It didn’t fall. It just stayed there taunting us. Again, my son was 15 or 16 as a guess.

Today, while I was cutting the grass, I found a rusty old Cobia jig in the yard next to the power pole. I was surprised because I have been making that lap all summer and had not seen it. Then it dawned on me. I looked up and that jig that had hung there from the wire for years was gone. Instantly, and out of nowhere memories flooded my mind and my heart and over flowed from my eyes in the form of precipitation. So many laughs shared out there. So much time cutting up, doing things that built a bond. I admit that I was a bit choked up and I felt a bit silly riding the mower around with a slight grin and dust collecting on my damp cheeks as I finished the chores.

This month, on the 15th my son turned 24 and we don’t get to fish together often now because his work schedules and mine don’t line up often, but those times are just as important to me and just as special.

Maybe, as I get older I am becoming a bit sentimental, but I don’t mind getting teased for that. It is part of the love that we have shared and part of what we have learned and enjoyed together. One day, these memories may get dimmed. God forbid. I will keep them as long as I can.
-Bill Laminack