Hunter Vedder, 12

This past summer I started fishing, like actual fishing, not just me throwing the line out in the water and hoping to catch a fish. I learned how to do the fisherman’s knot, how to put a worm on so it stays, and which kind of artificial bait catches what kind of fish.

I remember when my Papa used to take me out to the lake and he would throw a lure in the water for me and give me the pole. I started fishing when my Papa took my cousin, Mason, and me to the fishing derby on the Dead River Basin, where his camp is. Everyone fishes for a couple of hours and then they come back for the drawing for a bunch of fishing stuff.

This year we didn’t catch any fish but we still had a good time. Mason and I both got fishing poles and small packs of tackle. I was sad that my dad couldn’t take me, but I still got to go with my Papa and had a great time. My sister Linnea, who you might have heard about in my last article, is freaked out by fish. The last time my dad caught a pike she jumped up on the seats of the boat and screamed.

My other sister Eleanor, my cousin Mason and I did a lot of offshore fishing when we couldn’t go on the boat. I caught two fish total this year. Two basses. Eleanor was paying attention to her bobber in the water so I put the small fish in front of her face and I swear, she jumped 10 feet into the air. We let the fish go because they eat some stuff off the floor of the lake and they don’t taste good to my family. My Papa caught one fish total, I think. I mostly used a worm or a black jig with a bright pink jig head to get the fish. One fish, I had on the line, but I couldn’t get it out of the water and it jumped out of the water and splashed me before I could get it on shore.

There is a reason why my mom is nicknamed, “The Snag Queen.” My mom loves to snag lures on everything (not on purpose, of course). That’s why my dad doesn’t let her use his good lures. One time I snagged a lure on a stump and I was tugging to get it off and the whole reel just fell in the water — and that’s why my mom and I can’t use my dad’s expensive fishing stuff, but I have my own pole and tackle and so do my sisters.

Just like my great grandpa and dad make bows, they also make fly-fishing lures out of feathers and beads and more. I really hope you try fishing with your family or friends. I enjoy fishing and so does my family on both sides. Next summer I hope I can catch a fish we can keep.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hunter Vedder is 12 years old and in the sixth grade. He loves to read, fish and hunt.