I'm hooked on a feeling!

One of the truly simple pleasures in life is getting back to something we enjoyed as a child. Something that even does not require hi-tech, lots of money or lots of stuff to be successful.

I'm that way with fishing. I love to fish. I always have and I suspect I always will. I don't mean bass boat, depth finder, ultra light, dipping sauce bait fishing. I'm talking standing on the bank with a pole and bobber with some worms fishing. I'm talking on waiting for the bobber to move and getting excited about it fishing. I'm talking about standing there for hours and not catching anything and coming home feeling great cause a bad day fishing is better than a good day anything else fishing.

See, fishing is not in the catching. Nope, it is in the journey TO catch. I love the anticipation of going. Of stopping for coffee and a container of worms on the way. Of opening a tackle box that is yours and is full not of hooks, line, lures and weights but is full of memories. That is what a tackle box holds. Memories. Memories of going fishing with your Dad, Granddad, cousins, friends. Of walking and then sitting in the rain for hours because someone told someone that fishing in the rain helped you catch more. Memories of secret spots only you and your cousin know about where you caught the "big one". Memories of your first rod and reel. Memories of going to the pier at Bouge Inlet and fishing all night with your cousin Jerry and his cousin Buck Wheat and bringing home over 120 spots!

Better yet, memories of taking your kids fishing for the first time. Of the first time your daughters and son baited their own hook with a worm and how proud you and they were. Of memories of your kids fishing with other kids and catching the biggest fish. Memories of your kids telling the other kids that "my Dad will help you, he knows all about fishing".

Oh yeah, a tackle box is not full of gear but full of memories. But the funny thing is, no matter how much stuff you put in a tackle box, there is always room for more memories. I added a few this weekend. The kids (all 3 of them) and I went down to the lake for a couple hours. We had a ball! I pulled out the poles and rods and found a Mickey Mouse Zebco rod/reel that is almost 20 years old! It was my oldest daughter's first rod and reel! I used it this weekend. Still works like it was new. Talk about memories!

The day was a great day for fishing. We had two catches. My oldest caught one and my son caught one. The middle daughter and I just had a great day fishing. When we were packing up, I made sure we had everything. The tackle box was a little heavier on the way out. I guess I packed a few more memories in there this weekend.