A Kid, A derby & an american Flyer
TournamenTs?
so... you are considering
Fishing
I
t was a humid July day in delaware in 1958 and i had been waiting for this day with anticipa- tion for months. although only five-years-old, i was hooked. The annual Fishing derby at the local pond was today and i was finally old enough to enter. First prize was something just as special to a five-year-old in those days as a new ranger bass boat is today. it was a shiny red and chrome ameri- can Flyer bicycle.
Rick Ott was a friend and classmate of mine and he had fished the pond before; so i asked him what he catches there. rick told me the pond contained bass,
bluegill, crappie, and catfish. My dad brought home the derby flyer which outlined the rules and the winner was to be determined by the total length in inches of any three fish. My father was the high school football, wrestling and golf coach; so i was immersed in competition at an early age. For weeks, while others were playing ball in the yard, i spent my time in the public library reading books about how to fish, just to gain an edge on the competition. Having caught all of the species of fish the pond held, i focused on learning how to fish for the catfish. even a single catfish would
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