PaPa This One Is For You

This weekend Tommy and I fished. It was hard to go without Dad in the boat but he is the one that taught me to love to fish and he would want me to keep doing it. What would have been harder is going this summer and him having to stay at home. He would not have been able to go after he started the chemo because he could not be out in the sun. Saturday we hauled in 21 and today we had 19. The picture is of a 14 1/4" crappie I caught at one of our usual spots. When I got it in the boat, I said PaPa this one is for you. He would have said, now that's a slab, hurry up and get it in the boat. I will never forget and I will always cherish the memories I have of us fishing together. My Dad was the crappie king and I was lucky to learn from the best. If I was not catching fish he could not stand it and he would go to coaching me. He would say, Lisa Kay how many turns are you off the bottom? I would say I don't know Daddy 2 or 3. He would say go back down, come up 3 turns and then ease it up real slow and you will catch a fish. I would do what he said, he was usually right and I would catch a fish. I know that he was not physically in the boat but in my mind I could hear all the things that he would be saying to me. I know that he smiled today when I caught the big one. I miss you Daddy, thank you for all the memories that I have. I hope to someday have grandchildren that love to fish because I want your legacy to live on.