Here Fishy Fishy

The Childresses are many things but one thing we are not are
fisherman. It has always been one of those things that never caught
on or should I say kept our interest. Now that is not to say we did not
try. We have had plenty of opportunities.

My grandfather was a skilled fisherman. He gave me my first rod and reel
and taught me everything he could about the sport. Every summer he and
my grandmother would take me to Natchez Trace Park. We always stayed at
the park inn which was surrounded by a beautiful lake. My granddad took
me out on the pier for my first fishing experience. He baited my hook
and taught me how to cast my rod. He stood behind me, watched as I
found my spot, I pulled back on the rod, and gave a great cast. At
that moment I heard a shrill coming from my granddad. I had released
my line too early. My line let out on my back cast hooked my
granddad in his right eyebrow. He cut the line and tried getting it out
himself. He eventually had to go to the front desk at the inn and have it cut out.

A few years later, my mom had planned a mother son day at Shelby Farms. We went horse
back riding and had brought some cane poles to fish. We were having a
great day fishing and feeding near by ducks. Our hooks were in the
lake when mom's bobber went under. With excitement she sprung up to
pull it in. I was so proud of my mom because she caught the most
beautiful duck I’d ever seen. Our feathered friend had eaten the hotdog on the hook and had
somehow gotten the hook caught in its beak. Of course, the duck would
not let us help it, so we ended up calling the ranger to take care of it.

Our best fishing story happened many years ago when my brother Will
was a toddler. He had his Mickey Mouse fishing pole with a piece of
hotdog for bait. He would cast it out into the muddy water, reel it
back in along the dirt, and repeat the process several more times. I
went to check on him and saw he no longer had his bait. When I asked
where it was he simply replied, "I ate it." Happy fishing y'all

- Steve Childress