First I just want to say I am grateful that I still have my father here and well enough at his age to still get out and fish with me. Take a Dad fishing is a different take on that phrase take a kid fishing :D I just happen to point out a bumper sticker to my dad on our way home Friday after a good day fishing that said take a dad fishing. My father turned 72 last Thursday and I took him fishing Friday morning. I arrived to pick him up at 4 AM which seemed to be a little early so I said why not have a bite to eat before we head out since the rain was still coming down after some brutal thunderstorms, I didn't want to get to the ramp while it was too dark so we got there by 5 and it was light enough out to motor out to the fishing grounds in my little homemade boat "the Jenna Rose". The last time I was out , others did well on the pink sluggo so I came prepared with plenty of pink. Right off the bat I did well with a 1/2 oz jighead and 7-1/2" pink sluggo and my dad started out with a plug and soon switched to a pink Ronz. I had enough of the smaller fish so I stepped up in size to a 10" Hogy in pink to try to entice some better size fish which soon worked when I got a nice singing drag with a 15 pounder. By now my dad has a few small bass on the 7-1/2" sluggo with the 1/2 oz jighead but nothing of any size. He keeps at it and all of a sudden his drag starts screaming off line, so I say"whatcha got there Dad?" he tightens the drag a bit on his shimano baitrunner 3500 and even so the spool is almost half dumped and the boat is being dragged against the current a bit sideways :D so I offer to start the motor to follow the fish(I only gave him 75-100 ft. of help or so). He's got a nice one but we have no idea how big, I figure it's atleast 20 pounds and the battle goes on. Finally gaining his line back I get my first glimpse of the fish and my eyes bugout at the size of it. He wears her out and she's beside the boat ready for me to land her and I can't believe what I see but the small 3/0 hook on the jighead has only the point of the hook in her jawbone so I have to be careful with the pressure on the leader and not allow any slack. I missed her mouth the first try but got a firm grip on the lower jaw the second try and had her just as the hook and sluggo fall from the mouth. Success :cheers: I take a quick measure and give her to my dad to snap a picture and My dad says he wants to let her go, so back in the water and I put the motor(which I had to fully raise before the landing as the fish almost went under the motor)back in the water to revive the fish under power till she was ready. I had some fresh fish in the fridge already anyway from a 25 pounder I caught the day before in the canal.
I couldn't believe the luck and skill he had keeping that fish on his line with the hookpoint only in the jaw:shocked: The hook was way too small to get around her jawbone, there was just no way it would have. The hook ended up being slightly bent/straightened out.
What a thrill that was for me to see my dad catch his best striper yet once again on my boat. This one was 42 inches and 27.7 pounds. His other best fish was about 5 or 6 years ago when I had a 22' walkaround - that fish went 22 pounds and 40".
We caught some more fish even though by now the sun was poking through as the weather was clearing. We tried another spot as the tide slowed and we were off the water by 11:30 with smiles and great memories :happy:
The fish in the picture is tilted a little towards him so you can't really see the girth on this fish but she was hefty.
Someone commented how the fish is so big it wouldn't even fit in the boat, I guess we're gonna need a bigger boat :)

Take Dad fishing :btu:

You and your Dad are lucky to have each other...tell your Father I said nice work on that big Striper please.

My dad, Carl, crossed over day after Easter 2000.... he used to take me freshwater and then when I got older I would take him.... miss him every day.

Thank you Bruce,
Mike

Nice Slip! That makes me really want to put the pressure on my Dad to join me for a trip - something I'd been thinking about lately anyway.

By the way - your Dad looks younger than you!

:kewl:

Nice job to papa Slip :kewl:

By the way - your Dad looks younger than you!


:bl2: Careful Lab....Slip is a big mutha :hee:

Nice work Bruce and congrats to your dad. I'm equally lucky in that my dad loves to fish with me as well. We've shared some great fishing experiences together that will always be treasured.:btu:

Fantastic :kewl:

Good work and the perfect spot to do it!:)

Great Job!

And Happy Birthday to H.M.

I had the pleasure of working with Slip's dad for a few years at an engineering firm in Boston. He's both a very nice guy and a very sharp guy. Imagine my suprise when I found out that H.M. (I'd known for over a year) was in fact the Dad of Slip (who I had known for over a year).

:btu:

Trust me Slip, as much as the day meant to you, and the memories you will have, it means 100x more to your Dad. :hihi: He's very lucky to have a son like yourelf and i have a feeling he knows it. :hihi: Great moments neither of you will ever forget. That's what it's all about. :btu:

Doesn't get any better.
Thanks for sharing that with us.

Thanks for sharing - excellent fish POP.:buds:

i wish i could take mine.. enjoy bruce... they grow up and old real quick ....trust me..... dave

Nice fish, nicer day.:claps:

:kewl: :kewl: :kewl:
one for you bruce
one for your dad
and one for the jenna rose ( for handling the run of a 27#er and 2 large guys )

:kewl: :claps: :cheers:

It doesn't get better than that!!!!

Bernzy

By the way - your Dad looks younger than you!

He'll get a chuckle outta that one Ryan :D


Thanks everyone:wavey: yep, it doesn't get much better.
I'm glad we went out, even though the water was calm out where we were fishing, the wind was kicking up the inner harbor pretty good and it was a slow rough ride back in but we did fine.
I hope to get out with him on the beach again sometime soon this summer also so we'll do it again.

Great Post Slip....Congrats to you and your Dad!!

Slip, that is awesome! I can't wait to get my father in to some fish.

Slip,

Great story - well written. You is a fine man. I'm certain that you Dad is proud of you.

Great story! Congrats!

Great story, thanks for sharing it,

Awesome story, Thanks for sharing.

:btu: wish I had gotten there earlier to see it live.

That's awesome Bruce...Good for the both of you.

It's days you'll cherish forever.

Great post Slip. Fish with your father while you can. You won't be able to do it forever.
Memories last forever though.

nice