My first trip into the great world of Fishing was when I was five years of age. My grandfather Maurice Culp decided to take me to Black Canyon lake on the Mogollon Rim in Northern Arizona. It was June and the air was cool and crisp at 6 am. I was so excited to go fishing! My Dad had told my Sister JJ and I so many stories of his fishing trips that it was like I had already gone. He would tell us of stories of himself and Grandpa in Michigan and their trips searching for Pike and Muskies. How the fish would seem to explode from the water as they worked their top water plugs. This seemed to add the sense of adventure that seems to grow inside a young man from birth. I had been told to practice my casting till I could hit the inner part of an inner tube with my bait consistently. So I practiced with my old rod and reel and I would call Grandpa and show Dad just how good I was getting at casting. I would ask them. "Am I ready yet?" Dad would say "Almost son, you sure are getting better, but try just a little bit farther next time." So I moved another ten yards back. Man! It seemed like a mile every time I had to move, but I did and after some time I came to a point where I was casting into that inner tube every time! I showed my Grandfather and he was sure proud! So proud in fact that on my birthday he bought me a new Berkely rod and spinning reel. I was so happy I think I slept with it under my bed for the rest of the winter. But today was the moment I was waiting for. We hooked on our aluminum boat to my Uncle Jerry's Chevy suburban and headed down the road from Overgaard to the Lake. Along the way we saw many animals. Kaibab tree squirrels, White tailed Deer, Mule deer and a huge animal I had never before seen called an Elk. I was so drawn to these animals. It was like we were connected that day and I was in a whole new world full of possibilities. I felt as if I was dreaming and hoped that I would never wake up! On the way Grandpa told me of his hunting days in Ohio and how his father had given him a certain amount of shells and he had better come back with an animal for every shell. I came to realize that my Grandpa had grown up in a different time and really enjoyed his stories and learned a great deal about our family history. I knew then that I was part of a new generation and felt proud of where my family had come from. We launched our boat when we got to the lake and after about five minutes of trollling with our flies I felt my pole get a tug. At first I didn't know what it was then it happened again, then two big jerks and my pole was bending towards the water! GRANDPA I GOT A FISH! I screamed to the top of my lungs! "Ok" my Grandpa said," You don't need to yell." he said laughing, "Just hang onto the reel and reel him in slowly." "Not too hard!" "Just take your time son!"he said, "Is it a big one!" I yelled, "I dunno son" "let's get em to the boat and we will see ok?" I was so excited, I had a real hard time staying seated in the little aluminum boat. When we finally got him to the boat I knew it was the coolest fish that I ever had seen. I don't remember how big it was or how long it was, I just remember that I had caught a fish and I was just like my Grandpa and Dad, A fisherman. Now I am sure that I may have stretched the truth to a few folks when we got to the store after a day of fishing with Grandpa. But that my friends is what is called creative thinking and was allowed when you go fishing with Grandpa, he would say. We went on a few more trips throughout the years. It's those trips that I remember most as I look back now. Its also those trips that I look back on as I teach my kids about how to fish and other adventures in life. That day also seems to get me through the hardest days of my life when I don't think I can go any further. But then some how I find just a bit more, and I know that my Grandpa is smiling on me from Heaven waiting for the day when we go fishing again.
