Life's Lessons

Our first guest post comes from Kurtis "Roofish" Rudolph who was the first to request that we start a Sunfish blog. Kurtis wants me to post it just as it is without editing. Here it is just as received.

True story, I wrote Jan 2010

This is about SKILL, KNOWLEDGE, LUCK and being UNLUCKY. And LIFE'S Little Lessons

I'm from Maine originally, I did alot of saltwater fishing of course, growing up on that beautiful coastline.

I got to Texas when I was 10, grew up in Houston so we, my dad & I, continued to fish the coast mainly with occasional(sp)visits to Rayburn, Livingston and Conroe.

We fished from the bank or pier as we never owned a boat, on the coast fishing from a bank or a pier teaches you alot about fishing, without producing alot of fish.

Well in 2007 just before my dad passed away, he said something profound.
"Why did I do things in life the way I did. Stressing, worrying about $$, people, and life in general. Not doing the things I always wanted to do. Like buying a boat for fishing, shooting a deer. I never got to do the things I really wanted to do, I wasted so much time"

I'm a single Dad with 3 sons, I told them what their Grandpa had said, and that I felt he had told me this for a reason.

Up to this point in my life, I gained alot of fishing knowledge, without becoming what would be considered a great freshwater fisherman.

Well, with my dad's words ringing in my ears, I decided, even though, I was struggling for cash, that I would purchase a kayak, which a couple of weeks later turned into 3 kayaks, (I still have 2 sons 17 &1 3 living with me, 3rd son is in college).

So armed with my knowledge and my new kayaks. I now had an advantage that I'd never had before.
I was on the water with the fish, able to move to the locations that I had known for so long held fish, and use tactics that I learned from so many days on the bank and pier.

Up to this point in life, I had never caught any LMB to write home about.

My 17 year old son and I, we're in our kayaks here in Central Texas.

Would'nt you know it but I broke my rod tip while launching.

My son asked if I wanted to leave, and I said "H%ll No, we just launched and we're here, and we're gonna fish"

It was a beautiful day, however their were lots of powerboats, and fisherman, on the Lake.

We'd been fishing awhile, my son already caught a few dinks and he kept telling me he "was whuppin me" he felt bad I broke my rod and I was'nt catching any" he knows I live for my Sons & Fishing.

Meanwhile, I'm watching these guys about 100 yards away in their Bassboats burning up to this rock cliff, casting to it hot and heavy, several boats did this for about 30-45 minutes, not catching anything and burning off to another location.

I told my son "that spots fishy, let's paddle over there" we get over there and he hooks 2, 6 lb'rs right away and me still nothing.

So I cast under this cliff and I get a hit, does'nt seem to be anything major just a hit, this fish begins to go around my kayak and my son starts screeming "Oh my God, that things HUGE". I still have'nt seen this fish but my son has and does'nt stop yelling.

Here I am broken tip, not having caught any all day, when I get a glimpse of what appears to be a very large fish, and at this point he starts to fight and pull my kayak and me in it.

My sons yelling this whole time "dont lose him , he's HUGE, bring him in"

However with all my knowledge and skill and luck, there's a couple of things you should know.

I have no knowledge of the ShareLunker Program, nor do I have a camera, mine had fallen into the water, 2 weeks earlier at Lighthouse Lakes in Port A.

What did I catch, a LMB 25.5" and between 13-15lbs.

I was dumbfounded, my son was in Awe.

That wonderful experience, we all live for, catching a dream, once in a lifetime bass me and my son that day on the water could not believe this beautiful creature was in my lap on my kayak.

I have no picture, I have no proof, other than, the experience my son and I shared that day on the water, because of what My Dad had said GOD REST HIS SOUL

And as strange as it may seem, I felt like my Dad was there with us that day too
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That beautiful fish was released, hopefully I'll catch him again when I have my camera